An attack in Ingushetia Saturday left nine Chechen policemen dead and another nine wounded, officials said.

Alexei Vorobyov, the secretary of the Security Council of Ingushetia, told ITAR-TASS the police officers were ambushed on the road between two villages at 8:40 a.m. Moscow time. They were carrying out a special operation with Ingushetia's police, an attempt to neutralize militants, and were in the administrative border area between Ingushetia and Chechnya.

Militants armed with machine guns, grenade launchers and other firearms carried out the attack.

A military spokesman said there were 35 police officers in five cars. The head of administration for the village of Arshty was also in a car as the convoy headed toward the village of Chemulga.

Chechen interior officials promised the militants would be found and punished and the families of the dead and wounded would be cared for.