GROZNY, July 23 (RIA Novosti) - One police officer has been killed and another wounded in an explosion during an operation to hunt down militants in the Russian North Caucasus republic of Chechnya, a police spokesman said Thursday.
"Today at 2:40 p.m. Moscow time [10:40 GMT] police discovered a militant base in the village of Eshilkhatoi. As policemen were approaching the base, an unidentified explosive device detonated," the spokesman said.
Russia's North Caucasus has seen an upsurge in violence in recent months, although the Kremlin announced a formal end to its 10-year counter-terrorism operation in the troubled region on April 16.
