Two policemen killed in Russia's Chechnya

MOSCOW, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Two policemen were killed in a shootout with militants in Russia's restive North Caucasus of Chechnya, a spokesman for local law enforcement said Sunday.

The clash occurred when a special operation against a group of suspected militants was conducted around the Chechen town of Bamut, near the border of another North Caucasus republic of Ingushetia, said the spokesman.

Russia's troubled North Caucasus republics, particularly Chechnya, Dagestan and Ingushetia, have been plagued by violence stemming from Islamist militants and criminal groups.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev highlighted security and economic problems in the mainly Muslim region late last year and ordered measures to end militant violence, clan rivalries, and pervasive corruption there.

On Saturday, four militants were gunned down in Dagestan.