11:50, 7 May 2014

NAC: militants killed in Dagestan prepared terror acts during May holidays

Special operation in Semender township, 2012. Photo from the NAC archive, http://nac.gov.ru

The four persons killed today during a special operation in the Makhachkala township named Semender had been preparing terror acts during May holidays, the Russia's National Antiterrorist Committee (NAC) reports.

The special operation in Semender began today at 5:30 a.m. Moscow time. On May 6, law enforcers received information that members of the armed underground were preparing to commit terror acts in one of the private houses in Khasavyurt Street of Semender. The operation was conducted by FSB and MIA agents. Residents of neighbouring houses were evacuated; and in the course of negotiations the militants agreed to let out the owner's wife, the NAC reports. The ITAR-TASS adds that there were no victims among law enforcers and civilians in the armed clash.

According to preliminary data, all the four killed militants were members of the "Makhachkala" grouping and planned to trigger the explosive devices that had been earlier detected by policemen, the RIA "Novosti" reports.