Russian security forces kill four militants

MAKHACHKALA - Four militants were killed Saturday in a counter-terrorist operation on the outskirts of Makhachkala, the capital of Russias North Caucasus republic of Dagestan, a police spokesman said.

According to the official, the militants were suspected of involvement in Fridays 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.

Meanwhile reports said that a female suicide bomber blew herself up near a school in Grosny, the capital of troubled Chechnya republic. Three policemen were also injured in the blast.

Russias 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.

The Kremlin officially ended its anti-terrorism operation in Chechnya in April. The republic saw two brutal separatist wars in the 1990s and early 2000s.

–RIA Novosti