MOSCOW, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Russian troops killed 230 militants and destroyed 120 militant bases last year in the turbulent region of North Caucasus, Nikolai Rogozhkin, the deputy interior minister and interior troops commander, said Wednesday.

    Rogozhkin said at a press conference that the regional situation in North Caucasus remained complicated yet under control.

    "Interior troops participated in joint exercises, organized by the Federal Security Service and Interior Ministry more than 130 times last year," he said.

    More than half of the modern equipment has been received by the interior troops, as they switched from heavy to light armor, he added.

    Russia's mainly Muslim North Caucasus republics, particularly Chechnya, Dagestan and Ingushetia, have seen an upsurge in militant violence lately. Five police officers were killed last week in a suicide bombing in Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan.