MAKHACHKALA, December 14 (RIA Novosti) – Three suspected militants have been shot dead in a shootout with police in the volatile North Caucasus republic of Dagestan, regional law enforcement authorities reported.
The suspects, driving a Lada Priora sedan, were stopped for a routine ID check by police on Thursday night in Dagestan’s capital, Makhachkala.
They refused to show their ID papers and opened fire at police officers instead.
“The shooters attempted to escape, but police chased and surrounded them in a private house,” the reports said. “All three were killed in a brief fire exchange while police suffered no casualties.”
The identities of the militants are being established, police said.
The Islamist insurgency, once confined largely to Chechnya, has spread in recent years across the North Caucasus. Attacks on security forces, police and civilians are reported regularly in the neighboring republics of Ingushetia, Dagestan and Kabardino-Balkaria.
