Russian security forces clash with militants in Dagestan; 9 killed

[News_Editor]

Russian security forces clash with militants in Dagestan; 9 killed

2012-01-28 07:58:05 GMT+7 (ICT)

DAGESTAN, RUSSIA (BNO NEWS) -- Russian security forces clashed with militants in the North Caucasus republic of Dagestan on late Friday evening, leaving four service members and five militants killed. Several others were injured.

The clash happened during a police operation in a forest between Chernyayevka and Ukrainsky in the district of Kizlyar, according to the Itar-Tass news agency. It said the operation, by forces belonging to the Interior Ministry, was carried out to find militants in the region.

"The militants opened fire with a machine gun and sub-machine guns when the police tried to block them in a dugout," said National Counter Terrorism Committee spokesman Nikolai Sintsov, as quoted by Itar-Tass. He said the militants were members of the so-called Kizlyar group which has previously carried out attacks in the district.

Sintsov said four service members were killed while another four were injured, although their conditions were not immediately known. "All the five militants in the dugout were (also) killed in the clash," the spokesman added. He said the dugout was found to contain food, equipment, weapons and bomb-making materials.

Militants in the region continue to carry out attacks against security forces, police, and civilians, more than a decade after a separatist war ended in Chechnya. The volatile region of Dagestan neighbors Chechnya where about 50 percent of all militant attacks in Russia took place in 2010.

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