"In 2007, the Federal Security Service and the Ministry of Internal Affairs conducted nearly 2000 operations, during which about 50 militants were eliminated, and 180 small arms, 120 grenade launchers and 500 kg of explosives seized," said Gen. Nikolai Rogozhkin of the Russian Interior Forces.
He also added that sappers had destroyed more than 100 landmines during the operations.
The general had earlier announced that during the first quarter of the current year interior troops had killed 40 militants in the North Caucasus. He also said that there were currently some 400-500 militants formed into illegal armed units in the region.
There are currently some 30,000 Interior Forces troops stationed in the North Caucasus, including 23,000 in the Chechen republic.
Chechnya, which saw two devastating separatist wars in the 1990s and early 2000s, has enjoyed a period of relative stability and calm recently. Premier League soccer even made a return to the republic in mid-March, when Terek Grozny kicked off the new Russian season with a home game in the capital.
Despite this, however, periodic bombings and clashes between militants and federal troops still occur in Chechnya and nearby regions, including Daghestan and, most notably of late, Ingushetia.
