Avtury GRU ambush was the July 4, 2006

ambush An ambush is a surprise attack carried out by people lying in wait in a concealed position. The concealed position itself or the concealed person(s) may also be called an "". Ambushes as a basic military tactics, fighting tactic of soldi ...

Chechnya Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. The republic forms a part of the North Caucasian Federa ...

The attack

15-20 Chechen rebel fighters led by

Abu Hafs al-Urduni Abu Hafs al-Urduni (; 1973 – November 26, 2006), also transliterated as Abu Hafs al-Urdani, was a Jordanian militant fighting in Chechnya. He was killed in Dagestan on November 26, 2006. Biography Early life Most of whatever little is known ab ...

and armed with

heavy machine gun A heavy machine gun (HMG) is significantly larger than light, medium or general-purpose machine guns. HMGs are typically too heavy to be man-portable (carried by one person) and require mounting onto a weapons platform to be operably stable or ...

assault rifle An assault rifle is a select fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge, intermediate-rifle cartridge and a Magazine (firearms), detachable magazine.C. Taylor, ''The Fighting Rifle: A Complete Study of the Rifle in Combat'', F.A. Moyer '' ...

grenade launcher A grenade launcher is a weapon that fires a specially designed, large caliber projectile, often with an explosive, Smoke screen, smoke, or tear gas, gas warhead. Today, the term generally refers to a class of dedicated firearms firing unitary gre ...

s and

rocket-propelled grenade A rocket-propelled grenade (RPG), also known colloquially as a rocket launcher, is a Shoulder-fired missile, shoulder-fired anti-tank weapon that launches rockets equipped with a Shaped charge, shaped-charge explosive warhead. Most RPGs can ...

s opened fire from a forested area in Avtury on a motorized column of the

GRU Gru is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the ''Despicable Me'' film series. Gru or GRU may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Gru (rapper), Serbian rapper * Gru, an antagonist in '' The Kine Saga'' Organizations Georgia (c ...

Spetsnaz SpetsnazThe term is borrowed from rus, спецназ, p=spʲɪtsˈnas; abbreviation for or 'Special Purpose Military Units'; or () are special forces in many post-Soviet states. Historically, this term referred to the Soviet Union's Spet ...

16th Brigade from

Tambov Tambov ( , ; rus, Тамбов, p=tɐmˈbof) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Tambov Oblast, Central Federal District, central Russia, at the confluence of the Tsna River (Moksha basin), Tsna ...

, composed of several military trucks and one

armored personnel carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Acc ...

. The attack, which lasted for about an hour, completely destroyed the motorized column, killed between 7 and 30 Russian soldiers, and wounded as many as 30 others; effectively stopping the flow of reinforcements and weapons to Russian troops in Avtury Chechnya, according to

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n sources.Russians killed in Chechen attack
BBC News, 4 July 2006 Separatist websites announced the attack was a "meticulously planned act of revenge" by Commanders

and Abu Yassir for the death of the Chechen rebel leader

Abdul-Halim Sadulayev Abdul-Halim Abusalamovich Sadulayev ( ; 2 June 1966 – 17 June 2006) was the fourth President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. Sadulayev served little more than a full year as President before being killed in a gun battle with FSB and ...

. They said the Russians lost "close to 40" men and that they themselves suffered no casualties. A video of the attack which circulates on the internet was made giving a tribute to

and then showing the planning and execution of the attack. On the same day,

Russian President The president of Russia, officially the president of the Russian Federation (), is the executive head of state of Russia. The president is the chair of the Federal State Council and the supreme commander-in-chief of the Russian Armed Forces. I ...

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

said the term "combat operations" can no longer be used with regards to Chechnya: "''There are outbursts of terrorist actions, but no combat actions in Chechnya,''" Putin said.

References

Attacks in Russia in 2006 Ambushes of the Second Chechen War Battles involving Chechnya Filmed killings July 2006 in Russia Grenade attacks in Europe Explosions in 2006 Explosions in Russia {{Chechnya-stub