Image copyright AFP Image caption Russian troops in Chechnya have faced a low level insurgency for years

Six Russian soldiers have been killed and several wounded in a clash with armed militants in Russia's region of Chechnya, security forces say.

The Russian National Guard says militants took advantage of heavy fog to try to storm one of its bases overnight on Thursday.

Six attackers are also said to have been killed in the gun battle.

Russian forces have fought two wars against Islamist separatists in Chechnya since 1994.

Image copyright AP Image caption Chechen regional leader Ramzan Kadyrov has a strongman reputation and has quelled the insurgency

They still face a low-level insurgency in the mainly Muslim region in Russia's volatile North Caucasus area.

But clashes between the two sides have become less commonplace in recent years, correspondents say.

The insurgency has been quelled largely because of Chechnya's authoritarian leader Ramzan Kadyrov, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He has ruled Chechnya since his forces, helped by massive Russian firepower, defeated separatist rebels between 1999-2009.

His much-feared militia, called the "Kadyrovtsy", have been accused of kidnapping, torture and other human rights abuses.</s>Isis has claimed responsibility for the death of at least six Russian soldiers at a military facility in Chechnya on Friday (24 March). Six assailants who stormed into the base were also killed.

Head of the North Caucasus republic Ramzan Kadyrov said later that they have identified the attackers. The military base was put on high alert following the incident.

Strongly condemning the "gruesome attack", Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the country is being repeatedly targeted by terrorists and needs to step up efforts to deal with such acts.

"We exist in a very complicated environment. We must develop the awareness of this danger at last and pool efforts in the struggle against terrorism," Putin said as he received French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen in Kremlin on Friday.

Le Pen added: "Our countries are real fighters against terrorism. We can defeat this evil only if we are together."

Meanwhile, soon after the attack, the Russian National Guard said in a statement that "six armed bandits" stormed into the base at Naursky district in Chechen Republic under heavy fog, but were killed before they could enter the facility.

The Islamist militant group, through its Amaq news agency, said that the assailants, who killed six Russian guards and wounded three others, were "soldiers of the caliphate", Sky News Australia reported.

A spokesman for the National Guard later told Tass news agency that the Islamic State terrorist group "assumed responsibility" for the attack. "The fact proves once again the National Guard units are on the forefront of struggle with international terrorism," he said.

Elaborating on the identity of the militants, Kadyrov said that two of the attackers were natives of the Rostov region in southern Russia, while another one was from Volgograd region and three others were Chechen residents.

He posted on Instagram that the militants were plotting major terrorist attacks and were planning to use weapons from the military base. "There is no doubt that the gunmen planned to carry out high-profile terrorist attacks using weapons if they managed to acquire them and escape alive," he wrote.</s>MOSCOW: Six Russian soldiers were killed in Chechnya on Friday (Mar 24) when gunmen tried to storm their base in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group.

The base belongs to Russia's National Guard, a branch established last year to defend borders and counter extremism.

It is subordinate directly to President Vladimir Putin and has bases in the country's volatile North Caucasus regions, including Chechnya.

In a statement, the National Guard said the rebels tried to storm the base in heavy fog at around 2.30am local time (2330 GMT on Thursday) but were spotted by a group of soldiers who opened fire.

"Six of the attackers were destroyed," the statement said. "During the armed combat, six military were killed and there are wounded."

None of the insurgents managed to enter the base, the National Guard said. Counter-terrorism troops, investigators and explosives experts are at the scene, it said.

The SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors militant communications, said the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack on Friday.

The assailants attacked "a military base of the Russian National Guard close to Naurskaya village in northwestern Grozny in Chechnya," the IS statement said. "They clashed with those at the base with light weapons for several hours."

Chechnya was the scene of two separatist wars in the 1990s and early 2000s, but violence in the region has largely been suppressed under the iron-fisted rule of strongman leader Ramzan Kadyrov.

On Friday Kadyrov promised to wage a "ferocious fight" against the militants. "These demons have treacherous intentions: as we have seen they do not want to stop," he said, according to the Interfax news agency.

Two National Guard soldiers were killed in a Chechen village in January during a joint operation with police and special forces in which four suspected militants were also killed.

The Russian North Caucasus is one of the major sources of foreign militants fighting in Syria and Iraq. In January, Kadyrov said his forces had detained more than 50 insurgents linked to the Islamic State group in a security operation.</s>Six soldiers from Russia’s National Guard were killed and three were injured during an overnight raid on Stanitsa Naurskaya, a military town in the north of Chechnya, reports the Interfax news site. This is the third attack since the beginning of the year.

The incident occurred around 2:30 a.m. when a group of insurgents attempted to enter Stanitsa Naurskaya, according to the National Guard’s press release. Russian forces effectively countered the offensive, but six Russian soldiers died during the battle.

Six insurgents were also killed and two of them are discovered to have been wearing explosive belts.

The area is currently blocked and a task force was deployed to investigate the incident. Although the counter-terror regime has been lifted in Chechnya since 2009, the insurgency is still ongoing in remote areas in the republic.

“Thanks to the decisive actions of our military personnel, the criminal group's attempt to enter the town has failed,” says the National Guard’s press release.

Russia’s National Guard is actively involved in counter-terrorism operations in the North Caucasus. The service was created in early 2016 and modelled on the Internal Troops and special forces of the Interior Ministry. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.</s>The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for an attack on Friday on a Russian military base in Chechnya, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist communications. Six attackers stormed “a military base of the Russian National Guard close to Naurskaya village in northwestern Grozny in Chechnya,” the IS statement said. “They clashed with those at the base with light weapons for several hours.”

The statement said all of the assailants died during the attack, which killed six Russian soldiers.

Russia’s National Guard, established last year, is a new branch of troops aimed at defending borders and countering extremism.

In a statement, the National Guard said the rebels tried to storm their base in heavy fog at around 2:30 AM local time but were spotted by a group of soldiers who opened fire.

Chechnya was the scene of two separatist wars in the 1990s and early 2000s, but the region has been largely calm under the iron-fisted rule of strongman leader Ramzan Kadyrov.

Two National Guard soldiers were killed in a Chechen village in January during a joint operation with police and special forces in which four suspected militants also died.

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App now</s>Six Russian servicemen have been killed and several more injured in a militant attack on a Russian National Guard base in the Chechen Republic.The incident took place near the Chechen village of Naurskaya, 70 kilometers north-west of Grozny.According to a statement posted on the Russian National Guard website, "around 2:30am on March 24 a group of armed militants attempted to enter the territory of one of the military camps of the Russian National Guard."The militant group was spotted by an army detachment, which confronted it. Six attackers were killed. At the same time, six servicemen died in the shootout too while several more were wounded.The National Guard says the militants took advantage of the thick morning fog for the attack.Last December, militants attacked the capital of the Chechen republic, Grozny, targeting policemen.After a day-long operation and a fierce shootout in the center of the capital, police were able to kill all seven assailants.The standoff was caught on camera by witnesses, with police seen raining fire upon the gunmen.</s>Moscow - Russian authorities say six suspected militants and six soldiers were killed during a firefight in the volatile North Caucasus region.

The National Anti-terrorism Committee said in a statement that armed militants, including two with suicide belts, had tried to break into a National Guard base in Chechnya.

The National Guard, a powerful new security agency created by President Vladimir Putin last year, said the attack took place in heavy fog.

The Amaq news agency, which is linked to the Islamic State group, said "six soldiers of the caliphate" were killed in the attack.

There was no independent confirmation of ISIS involvement.

The Kremlin has relied on Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov to stabilise the situation in the mainly Muslim region in the wake of two bloody separatist wars that followed the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union.</s>The Kremlin has relied on Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov to stabilise the mainly Muslim region in the wake of two bloody separatist wars. Russia said six of its soldiers had been killed after successfully repelling an assault on a military facility in Chechnya, an attack the Islamic State militant group said it had carried out.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Manawatu Evening Standard.</s>Russian authorities say six suspected militants and six soldiers were killed during a firefight in the volatile North Caucasus region.

The National Anti-terrorism Committee said in a statement Friday that armed militants, including two with suicide belts, tried to break into a National Guard base in Chechnya in the early hours of the morning.

The National Guard, a powerful new security agency created last year by President Vladimir Putin, said in a statement that the attack took place in heavy fog.

The Kremlin has relied on Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov to stabilize the situation in the mainly Muslin region in the wake of two bloody separatist wars that followed the fall of the Soviet Union.</s>Russian authorities say six suspected militants and six soldiers were killed during a firefight in the volatile North Caucasus region. The National Anti-terrorism Committee said in a statement Friday that armed militants, including two with suicide belts, tried to break into a National Guard base in Chechnya early Friday.

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Six Chechen soldiers, along with six militants, are killed in a nighttime attack on a Russian National Guard base in Chechnya.