The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) forces (identified as Sofrinskaya Brigade of the Internal Troops, Moscow Oblast OMON and Orenburg SOBR, some Moscow policemen and possibly members of the elite counter-terrorist unit Vityaz) began an operation to "mop up" the village (zachistka - an intense search of the streets, house-by-house) on April 7, in the area around the train station, and then, on April 8, through the entire village. According to Lt. Gen. Anatoly Antonov, deputy commander of MVD forces in Chechnya, it was "the first completely independent military operation by MVD troops," carried out by combined units of more than 3,000 MVD troops, including 350 from the storm detachments. Artillery, a multiple rocket launcher battery, and tanks had also been deployed around Samashki.