Galashki ambush took place of May 11, 2000, when the separatist militants from the group of

Shamil Basayev Shamil Salmanovich Basayev ( ce, Салман ВоӀ Шамиль ; russian: Шамиль Салманович Басаев; 14 January 1965 – 10 July 2006), also known by his kunya "Abu Idris", was a senior military commander in the Cheche ...

, led by a Galashki native Ruslan Khuchbarov, attacked and destroyed a convoy of the

Russian Interior Ministry The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation (MVD; russian: Министерство внутренних дел (МВД), ''Ministerstvo vnutrennikh del'') is the interior ministry of Russia. The MVD is responsible for law enfor ...

paramilitary forces in the Republic of

Ingushetia Ingushetia (; russian: Ингуше́тия; inh, ГӀалгӏайче, Ghalghayče), officially the Republic of Ingushetia,; inh, Гӏалгӏай Мохк, Ghalghay Moxk is a republic of Russia located in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe. ...

. The incident was the first major act of violence linked to the

Second Chechen War The Second Chechen War (russian: Втора́я чече́нская война́, ) took place in Chechnya and the border regions of the North Caucasus between the Russia, Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, from Augus ...

in Ingushetia and the first major rebel raid outside the neighbouring

Chechnya Chechnya ( rus, Чечня́, Chechnyá, p=tɕɪtɕˈnʲa; ce, Нохчийчоь, Noxçiyçö), officially the Chechen Republic,; ce, Нохчийн Республика, Noxçiyn Respublika is a republic of Russia. It is situated in the ...

since war began in 1999.

Battle

According to the Russian sources, in the convoy there were 22

Internal Troops The Internal Troops, full name Internal Troops of the Ministry for Internal Affairs (MVD) (russian: Внутренние войска Министерства внутренних дел, Vnutrenniye Voiska Ministerstva Vnutrennikh Del; abbreviat ...

servicemen from

Altai Krai Altai Krai (russian: Алта́йский край, r=Altaysky kray, p=ɐlˈtajskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (a krai). It borders clockwise from the west, Kazakhstan (East Kazakhstan Region and Pavlodar ...

, returning aboard two military trucks to

Vladikavkaz Vladikavkaz (russian: Владикавка́з, , os, Дзæуджыхъæу, translit=Dzæwdžyqæw, ;), formerly known as Ordzhonikidze () and Dzaudzhikau (), is the capital city of the North Ossetia-Alania, Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Ru ...

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

of the

Republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

North Ossetia–Alania The Republic of North Ossetia–Alania; os, Республикӕ Цӕгат Ирыстон — Алани, ''Respublikæ Cægat Iryston — Alani'', ) is a republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe. Its population acco ...

, having completed a tour of duty in Ingushetia. At about 12 am, at a highway near the village of

Galashki Galashki (russian: Галашки; inh, Галашкe, ''Galaške'') is a rural locality (a '' selo'') in Sunzhensky District of the Republic of Ingushetia, Russia, located on the left bank of the Sunzha River near the border with the Republic ...

, a group of rebels located in the woods overlooking the road suddenly opened fire on them with grenade launchers and machine guns (some sources also mention mortar and sniper fire), disabling the first truck and then quickly obliterating the whole convoy. Following their attack, the rebels managed to escape the pursuit and vanished into the forest near the village of

Bamut Bamut (russian: Бамут, ce, Буммат, ''Bummat'') is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, rural locality (a ''village#Russia, selo'') in Sernovodsky District, Chechnya. Administrative and municipal status Municipally, Bamut is in ...

.Chechens cross border to kill troops troops
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', May 12, 2000

Aftermath

According to the Chechen separatist website

Kavkaz Center The Kavkaz Center (KC; russian: Кавказ-центр, Kavkaz-centr, lit=Caucasus Center) is a privately run website/portal which aims to be "a Chechen internet agency which is independent, international and Islamic". The stated mission of the s ...

, three heavy trucks and two

BTR BTR may refer to: Companies * BTR Aerospace Group * BTR plc, formerly BTR Industries, one of the predecessor companies of Invensys plc * British Thomson-Houston (former name BTR), a British engineering and heavy industrial company Media, music, ...

armored vehicles were destroyed, while "not less than 40" Russian soldiers were killed by an unspecified unit of fighters from the Southwestern Front of the

Armed Forces of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria , image = File:Ickeriya.jpg , image_size = 170px , caption = , dates = 1991-20072022-present , country = Chechen Republic of Ichke ...

.Russian column attacked near Galashki
,

, May 11th, 2000 (mirror)

References

{{coord missing, Ingushetia 2000 in Russia Battles of the Second Chechen War Battles involving Chechnya History of Ingushetia Battles involving Ingushetia May 2000 events in Europe Ambushes