7 September 2016, 04:04 GMT
MAKHACHKALA (Sputnik) — A counterterrorist operation has been initiated in one of the districts of Makhachkala, the capital of Russia's Dagestan republic, a spokesperson of the local operations headquarters told RIA Novosti on Wednesday.
"At 7:00 a.m. [04:00 GMT] the head of the operations headquarters decided to declare the regime of a counterterrorist operation within the administrative borders of the Kirovsky district of Makhachkala," the spokesperson said.
Earlier in the day, local authorities reported that a residential building had been barricated in the Kirovsky district, where militants were hiding. Prior to that, the anti-terrorist operation was introduced in the Dagestani town of Izberbash, where the militants were reportedly involved in the murder of two police officers.
Local law enforcement told RIA Novosti that the militants engaged in the stand-off in Makhachkala were suspected of having ties to the murder of police officers in Izberbash.
