A militant leader was killed in a police operation in the capital of the Russian North Caucasus republic of Chechnya on Saturday, the republic's interior minister said.
Khamzat Shamilev opened fire on police after they blockaded him in a house in Grozny. When he realized that he would not be able to escape, he blew himself up with a grenade, Ruslan Alkhanov said.
Three policemen were injured in the shootout, he added.
Earlier on Saturday, police in neighboring Dagestan killed another militant leader, Magomedali Vagabov, who is believed to be behind the March 29 suicide bombings on the Moscow metro that killed 40 people and injured 100 others.
GROZNY, August 21 (RIA Novosti)
