Six alleged members of the Islamic State group were killed in a shoot-out with police in the town of Karabulak in the Russian North Caucasus region of Ingushetia on 2 March, authorites reported.
ADVERTISEMENTSix alleged members of the Islamic State group were killed in a shootout in Russia's volatile North Caucasus region, in what was described by security forces as a “counterterrorism operation."
According to the Russian National Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAC), on Saturday, six men barricaded themselves in a third-floor apartment in Karabulak, a town of about 30,000 in Russia’s semi-autonomous Republic of Ingushetia.
A shootout with security services followed, as surrounding streets were blocked off and residents of the apartment block evacuated to a nearby school, the Russian Interfax news agency reported.
Heavy gunfire and blasts appearing to come from inside an apartment block could be heard in videos posted by Karabulak residents on social media.
The NAC did not immediately name the alleged Islamic State militants, but said three were on Russia’s wanted list.
All six had been involved in violent acts, including an attack on a traffic police unit last March that killed three officers, it added.
The local branch of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), the country’s main security agency, announced at 7:30 pm local time on Saturday emergency measures were being introduced due to an ongoing “counterterrorism” operation. The restrictions were lifted shortly after midday on Sunday.
The NAC claimed security services found automatic weapons, ammunition, hand grenades and homemade explosives inside the apartment where the men were hiding out.
The agency said that no local residents were hurt. However, Baza - a Russian Telegram channel set up by journalists critical of the Kremlin - reported a man walking by was killed in the shootout.
Euronews could not verify either side's claim.
Islamic rebels have fought two full-scale wars with Russian troops in Chechnya, a region neighbouring Ingushetia, over the past 20 years. Although the insurgency has been largely suppressed, sporadic attacks persist.
Ingushetia also suffers frequent violence attributed to insurgents, and both regions have seen unrest following Russia’s military action in Ukraine and a deeply unpopular mobilisation order in September 2022.