Three militants killed in Russia's North Caucasus

[News_Editor]

Three militants killed in Russia's North Caucasus

2011-06-11 23:30:03 GMT+7 (ICT)

MOSCOW (BNO NEWS) -- Three militants were killed in Dagestan in the volatile Russia's North Caucasus region, police said on Saturday.

RIA Novosti reported that the militants were killed when they opened fire during a police check. A Federal Security Service spokesman said one of those killed was identified as Kamil Magomedov, a subversive group leader reportedly involved in an attempt to organize a terrorist attack in Moscow on December 31, 2010. A second militant was on a federal wanted list, and the third man's identity was not established yet.

"Police officers tried to stop a car near the Manas village but people inside the car opened fire. All the three people inside were killed by return fire," a police spokesman said.

Two handguns and a grenade were seized from the site. An investigation is underway.

On Friday, six suspected militants and one police officer were killed in Kabardino-Balkaria during a special operation.

So far this year, Russian security forces have killed 146 militants in the North Caucasus region, including 19 senior leaders. The deaths have taken place in the troubled republics of Chechnya, Dagestan and Kabardino-Balkaria.

Islamist militants in the region have been fighting Russian security forces for years, looking to establish an independent state in the North Caucasus. Around 50 percent of all terrorist-related violence in Russia last year happened in the mainly-Muslim region.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-06-11