MOSCOW, May 6 (RIA Novosti) - A militant gang surrounded by Interior Ministry troops in central Daghestan includes "a number of notorious people," a senior official said Saturday.
"The surrounded fighters include major figures," Sergei Bunin said.
One soldier was killed and four others wounded in a shootout during the start of an operation being conducted by a combined force of military and federal security units.
"The operation is being conducted after a planned preparation, although we suffered an unfortunate setback in the beginning - one soldier has been killed and four other wounded," Bunin said.
The republic's Interior Ministry said the militant group numbered four or five gunmen, led by Ibragim Ibragimov.
Police also discovered a dugout shelter in the forest apparently designed for four people.
