The battle started on 13 August 2001, when Chechen rebels seized the village of Benoi-Yurt, attacked the local military commandant's office, and placed checkpoints on a strategic road that leads further south to the town of Vedeno.

Fierce fighting continued the next day on 14 August, described as the "heaviest attack by Chechen fighters in the past seventeen months.

Russian sources denied reports by independent agencies, claiming that the situation was under control; however, federal reinforcements were immediately sent to the area.

Meanwhile, rebels hit a military helicopter with a grenade launcher near Tsa Vedeno, resulting in its crash and the deaths of both its pilots.

[citation needed] At the same time, Russian media, citing military sources, reported an upsurge in the number of attacks on federal forces in Chechnya's northern districts, which were previously regarded as having been pacified.