During this independence the secular government weakened, and Chechnya came under the increasing influence of warlords and Islamist rule.

On 22 June 2001, Russian troops launched a zachistka on Alkhan-Kala, a large village south-west of Grozny, triggering an armed clash with Chechen separatists.

Alkhan-Kala was the home village of Arbi Barayev, one of the most powerful separatist warlords in Chechnya and founder of the Special Purpose Islamic Regiment, an Islamist organized crime syndicate that had terrorized Chechnya during its de facto independence after the First Chechen War.

The battle between Russian forces and Chechen separatists continued for six days and resulted in the massive destruction of Alkhan-Kala, with house-to-house fighting leaving dozens of homes destroyed.

[3] According to alternative version of Barayev's death, he was captured alive and handed over to the FSB, the main Russian national security agency, but was wanted by members of GRU, the Russian foreign military intelligence agency, for possible involvement in the suspicious death of German Ugryumov.