MAKHACHKALA, September 12 (RIA Novosti) - Four militants were killed on Saturday in a counter-terrorist operation on the outskirts of Makhachkala, the capital of Russia’s North Caucasus republic of Dagestan, a police spokesman told RIA Novosti.

The spokesman said the militants were suspected of involvement in Friday’s murder of a deputy prosecutor in Makhachkala, as well as an attack on police in the city of Kizilyurt. Officials identified one of the dead militants as Bagautdin Kamalutdinov, a local terrorist leader.
The operation began at 6:00 a.m. (02:00 GMT) in the village of Tarnair.
Russia’s North Caucasus republics, in particular, Dagestan, Chechnya and Ingushetia, have seen a dramatic rise in militant activity of late, with attacks on police, federal forces and officials reported almost daily.