Investigators Resume Work On the Scene in Nazran

MOSCOW/NAZRAN (RIA Novosti) - A team of investigators has resumed work on the scene of a recent skirmish with militants, Ingushetia's Interior Ministry told RIA Novosti on Monday. Law enforcers have cordoned off the scene.

Three members of Shamil Basayev's gang opened fire when law enforcers tried to arrest them in Nazran on Sunday night.

The militants took cover in a house in the city's Gamurziyevsky municipal district. They fired from automatic weapons at policemen.

The militants were killed, two policemen were wounded in the operation.

"The building that sheltered the militants was nearly completely ruined during an intensive skirmish. One of the militants was identified already. Magomet Khashiyev was an active member of the illegal armed group, who took part in the June 22 attack on Ingushetia," reported the Interior Ministry.

The other two militants have not been identified thus far. One of them was buried under the debris when the house caved in.

Eight local residents, among them five children, were injured in the skirmish.

"Civilians were found in the engagement area. Three women and five children were wounded, according to preliminary reports. They were all taken to the city hospital," said an Interior Ministry official.

The women and children received gunshot and fragment wounds. The condition of the several of them is grave.