Russian special forces killed two militants during a special operation held in the North Caucasus republic of Kabardino-Balkaria on Thursday, a local military official said.
The operation was carried out in the morning at an abandoned mine in the republic's south-western Elbrus region, where a group of militants has been hiding since mid-October, the official said.
None of the Special Forces officers was wounded in a shootout which took place about 150 meters away from the mine's entrance, he said.
One of the killed militants is believed to be involved in the murder of Federal Security Service officials that took place in the republic in August, a source in Kabardino-Balkaria's law enforcement agencies said.
Militant attacks and clashes with police are common in Russia's troubled North Caucasus republics.
While Chechnya, under the leadership of former-separatist-fighter-turned-Kremlin-ally Ramzan Kadyrov, has seen a marked reduction in militant attacks in recent years, violence has erupted in the neighboring republics of Ingushetia, Dagestan and Kabardino-Balkaria.
MOSCOW, November 4 (RIA Novosti)
