Editing Second Chechen War (section)

===Guerrilla war in Chechnya===
{{Main|Guerrilla phase of the Second Chechen War}}
:''Guerrilla phase by year: [[Guerrilla phase of the Second Chechen War (2000)|2000]], [[Guerrilla phase of the Second Chechen War (2001)|2001]], [[Guerrilla phase of the Second Chechen War (2002)|2002]], [[Guerrilla phase of the Second Chechen War (2003)|2003]], [[Guerrilla phase of the Second Chechen War (2004)|2004]], [[Guerrilla phase of the Second Chechen War (2005)|2005]], [[Guerrilla phase of the Second Chechen War (2006)|2006]], [[Guerrilla phase of the Second Chechen War (2007)|2007]], [[Guerrilla phase of the Second Chechen War (2008)|2008]], [[Guerrilla phase of the Second Chechen War (2009)|2009]]''

Although large-scale fighting within Chechnya had ceased, daily attacks continued, particularly in the southern portions of Chechnya and spilling into nearby territories of the Caucasus, especially after the [[Caucasian Front (Chechen War)|Caucasus Front]] was established. Typically small separatist units targeted Russian and pro-Russian officials, [[security force]]s, and military and police convoys and vehicles. The separatist units employed [[Improvised explosive device|IEDs]] and sometimes combined for larger raids. Russian forces retaliated with artillery and air strikes, as well as [[counter-insurgency]] operations. Most soldiers in Chechnya were ''kontraktniki'' (contract soldiers) as opposed to the earlier [[conscription|conscripts]]. While Russia continued to maintain a military presence within Chechnya, federal forces played less of a direct role. Pro-Kremlin Chechen forces under the command of the local strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, known as the ''[[kadyrovtsy]]'', dominated law enforcement and security operations, with many members (including Kadyrov himself) being former Chechen separatists who had defected since 1999. Since 2004, the Kadyrovtsy were partly incorporated into two Interior Ministry units, ''North'' and ''South'' (''Sever'' and ''Yug''). Two other units of the Chechen pro-Moscow forces, ''East'' and ''West'' ([[Special Battalions Vostok and Zapad|''Vostok'' and ''Zapad'']]), were commanded by [[Sulim Yamadayev]] (''Vostok'') and [[Said-Magomed Kakiyev]] (''Zapad'') and their men.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/elsewhere/journalist/story/0,,1796576,00.html|work=The Guardian|location=London|title=Land of the warlords|date=13 June 2006|access-date=23 May 2010|archive-date=12 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240312113244/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/jun/13/worlddispatch.russia|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 16 April 2009, the head of the [[Federal Security Service]], [[Alexander Bortnikov]], announced that Russia had ended its "anti-terror operation" in Chechnya, claiming that stability had been restored to the territory.<ref name="smh-end">{{Cite news|url=http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/russia-ends-10year-chechnya-operation-20090416-a8mi.html|title=Russia ends 10-year Chechnya operation|last=Williams|first=Stuart|date=16 April 2009|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=17 April 2009|archive-date=19 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111119054626/http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/russia-ends-10year-chechnya-operation-20090416-a8mi.html|url-status=live}}</ref> "The decision is aimed at creating the conditions for the future normalisation of the situation in the republic, its reconstruction and development of its socio-economic sphere," Bortnikov stated. While Chechnya had largely stabilised, there were still clashes with militants in the nearby regions of Dagestan and Ingushetia.