Moscow: At least 13 militants were killed in a raid carried out by the security personnel in Russia`s volatile North Caucasus republic of Dagestan, the National Anti-terrorism Committee said on Monday.
Ten militants were killed in the Dagestani capital of Makhachkala with another three "eliminated" in the Kizilyurt district`s Komsomolskoye village. Two police officers were also killed in the operation, the committee said.
Security operation, which lasted for 19 hours, was launched after the head of the anti-extremism department in Russia`s North Caucasus Federal District was shot dead as he drove to work in Makhachkala.
Attacks on police and officials are common in Russia`s North Caucasus republics, in particular Chechnya, Dagestan and Ingushetia.
On Saturday, a bomb placed under a car went off in Dagestan`s capital, injuring a police officer, while another officer was shot dead on Friday in the republic.
A week ago, Dagestan`s Minister of National Policy, Foreign Relations and Information, Bekmurza Bekmurzayev, survived an apparent assassination attempt that killed his driver and injured two bodyguards.
IANS
