MOSCOW, December 16 (RIA Novosti) – Policemen in Russia’s North Caucasus republic of Dagestan shot dead a suspected militant after he opened fire on them, the local Interior Ministry said on Sunday.
According to the statement from the ministry, policemen stopped a car for an inspection in Dagestan’s capital of Makhachkala. The driver got out of the car and, drawing a pistol, opened fire on the policemen. He was killed in return fire.
None of the policemen were wounded in the shootout, the statement added.
The Islamist insurgency, once confined largely to Chechnya, has spread in recent years across the North Caucasus. Attacks on security forces, police and civilians are reported regularly in the neighboring republics of Ingushetia, Dagestan and Kabardino-Balkaria.