Five Russian federal servicemen, including a commandant, were killed and two others wounded in a sweeping operation in Chechnya early on Sunday morning, Itar-Tass news agency reported.

A federal squad was dispatched to Roshni-Chu village in Chechnya's Urus-Martan district after receiving an information that some Chechen militants were carrying out an attack on the home of the head of village. The house is reported to have been burnt down.

The Chechen militants launched the attack at 00.10 AM local time (21:10 GMT on Saturday) on Sunday, according to the report.

Among the killed servicemen during the sweeping operation was district Military Commandant Col. Alexander Kayak,sources in the Military Commandant's Office was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying.

No exact information is available about the militants' losses.

(Xinhua News Agency August 15, 2005)