MOSCOW, October 3 (RIA Novosti) - A serviceman was killed in the early hours of Friday during a militant attack in Russia's North Caucasus republic of Chechnya, a local law enforcement source said.
The soldier was killed shortly after midnight in the Shalinsky district when a group of unknown gunmen opened fire on his Lada car using automatic rifles.
The gunmen stole his Kalashnikov gun with a rifle-attached grenade launcher, along with his Makarov pistol and ammunition. A search for the killers is underway.
Attacks on police, troops, and officials, and clashes with militants remain relatively frequent in Chechnya, although large-scale fighting with separatists officially ended in 2001, and substantial efforts have been made to revive the troubled republic.