Two militants have been killed in a counter-terrorist operation in Russia's Dagestan, a security service spokesman said on Thursday.

"The active phase of the special forces operation is finished," he said. "According to preliminary information, two militants have been eliminated."

The militants were surrounded on Wednesday evening after holing up in a private house in the village of Kormaskala in the republic's Kumtorkalinsky District.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday ordered the Federal Security Service to tighten security in the North Caucasus following a suicide bomb attack in Dagestan that killed five people and wounded up to 19.

A suicide bomber drove a car into a traffic police depot in Dagestan's capital, Makhachkala, early on Wednesday but was blocked by a police vehicle before exploding.

Russia's mainly Muslim North Caucasus republics, especially Chechnya, Dagestan and Ingushetia, have seen an upsurge of militant violence lately, with frequent attacks on police and officials.

MAKHACHKALA, January 7 (RIA Novosti)