Three members of a south Russian militant group have been killed in the North Caucasus Republic of Dagestan in a shootout with police, a local security source has said.
The shootout occurred late on Saturday on a highway linking the regional capital Makhachkala and the city of Khasavyurt. Three people opened fire when police tried to stop their vehicle for a check. They were killed when police returned fire.
"Three bodies were found in an Oka car. According to preliminary reports, they were all identified, but their names are not disclosed for investigation purposes," a source in the local department of the Federal Security Service (FSB) said.
Several blasts occurred in the car, apparently when shots caused several explosive devices to detonate, the source added. A fire followed.
He said officers of the local FSB department had been tipped off that a group of militants might travel in the area.
MAKHACHKALA, January 10 (RIA Novosti)