Rostov-On-Don (Russia): Russian officials say three militants and a policeman have been killed in two separate incidents in Russia's violence plagued Dagestan province.
Dagestan Interior Ministry spokesman Vyacheslav Gasanov said the militants were killed in a shootout that started in the provincial capital, Makhachkala, after police stopped a suspicious car. Two policemen were wounded in the shootout, he said.
Also today, police in Buinaksk town found the body of a police officer with gunshot wounds and tied hands, Gasanov said.
Dagestan, a multiethnic and mostly Muslim province of 2 million, is at the epicenter of almost daily attacks and clashes between police and Islamic militants.
The violence stems from two separatist wars in neighboring Chechnya, and human rights groups have said it is fueled by extrajudicial killings and kidnappings committed by federal forces.
PTI
First Published: Monday, October 08, 2012, 23:34