Russian authorities say three alleged militants have been killed in a counterterrorism operation in the North Caucasus region of Daghestan.
The National Antiterrorism Committee said on December 17 that the operation was launched after security agencies received information that militants suspected of committing "terrorist crimes" were hiding in a private house in the village of Gubden in the Karabudakhkent district.
The committee said that security forces surrounded the house where the group was holed up and killed the three alleged militants in an ensuing exchange of fire.
No casualties were reported among law enforcement personnel and civilians, a statement said.
One suspect was identified as Ali-Gadzhi Khamutayev, which the NAC blamed for the murder of eight civilians and an attack on a convoy of the Russian Interior Ministry.
Daghestan and other mainly Muslim republics in the North Caucasus are the site of frequent fighting between government forces and militants whose insurgency stems from two post-Soviet separatist wars in Chechnya.