Grenades launched at south Russia freight train, police discover arms cache in Ingushetia

Grenades launched at south Russia freight train

MOSCOW, March 1, 2010 (RIA Novosti)

Unknown assailants launched grenades at a freight train in Russia's volatile North Caucasus republic of Ingushetia, a police source said on Monday.

No one was hurt in the attack, which took place at the central station in Nazran, the republic's largest city, on Sunday evening.

"A carriage was damaged, and the windows of two houses next to the station blew out," the source said.

Police discovered part of the grenade launcher at the scene. The investigation will continue on Monday.

Ingushetia, part of Russia's troubled trinity of North Caucasus republics that also includes Chechnya and Dagestan, sees almost daily militant activity.

The republic also suffers high levels of crime, with Russia's general prosecutor saying on Thursday that crime was "out of control" in Ingushetia.

Police discover arms cache in Ingushetia

MOSCOW, February28, 2010 (RIA Novosti)

Police have found an arms cache in the Republic of Ingushetia in Russia's volatile North Caucasus region, a local police spokesman said on Sunday.

The weapons cache was found on Saturday in a garage in the central district of Nazran, Ingushetia's main city. The cache included a grenade launcher, about 2,000 cartridges and six electric detonators, the police spokesman said.

Measures are under way to identify the owners of the arms cache, the spokesman said.

On Thursday, police defused three explosive devices near an Interior Ministry office in the center of Nazran. Police searched the area near the building after a shootout with militants late on Wednesday. No casualties were reported among police or attackers.

But one explosive device detonated during the search, and three local residents were taken to hospital with concussion. The blast also caused a blaze at a natural gas pipeline, which was quickly put out.

Attacks on police and authorities have been an almost daily occurrence in Ingushetia, one of Russia's poorest regions. The neighboring North Caucasus republics of Chechnya and Dagestan have also been plagued by violence blamed on Islamic militants and criminal groups.

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