On-Don, Russia, September 17, SPA -- Security officers and militants battled in two separate clashes Wednesday in the volatile North Caucasus provinces of Russia near Chechnya. At least five police and security officers and 11 militants were killed, officials said, Ap reported. Police in the province of Dagestan east of Chechnya said police and security forces clashed with militants near the village of Tsmur before dawn, killing 11 gunmen. The regional branch of Russia's Interior Ministry said one security officer was killed and another seriously wounded in the skirmish. In a separate clash in the region of Ingushetia, which borders Chechnya to the west, several unidentified gunmen ambushed a Russian Interior Ministry vehicle, killing four Interior Ministry troops, the provincial branch of Interior Ministry said.
