Russian commandos killed three militants including a Turkish lansquenet in Chechnya on Friday.

"A reconnaissance group of the GRU special task force detected and destroyed physically three militants near the village of Selmentauzen, Vedeno District, Chechnya, on November 18. They had with them firearms, ammunition and communication facilities," the Defense Ministry was quoted as saying by the Itar-Tass news agency .

One of the slain militants held a Turkish passport, which identified him as Topli Sakhin, born on Aug. 10, 1976, and showed he had crossed the Turkish-Georgian border many times.

Chechnya, a volatile region in Russia's North Caucasus, has been plagued by frequent attacks from separatist rebels.

Last month, Russian security forces foiled an attempt by armed rebels to stage terrorist attacks during the Nov. 27 elections. Four suspects were arrested.

Source: Xinhua