10 killed in clashes in Russia's restive North Caucasus

Makhachkala (Russia): Police in Russia's restive Dagestan region in the North Caucasus today said at least four officers and six militants have died in a series of clashes.

Police spokeswoman Fatina Ubaidatova said three officers were wounded in a skirmish with a group of militants near the village of Kasumkent in southern Dagestan early today, and one policeman later died of wounds. She said four gunmen were also killed.

In a separate clash in the Derbent region a suspected militant was killed in a sweep that also left one police officer dead.

And in the Tabasaran region, a militant fired at police, killing two officers and wounding four others before being shot dead.Dagestan is the epicentre of an Islamist insurgency still simmering in southern Russia following separatist wars in neighboring Chechnya.