MOSCOW. June 8 (Interfax) - One militant was killed and several others were surrounded by special operations units in the town of Yuzhno-Sukhokumsk in the Republic of Dagestan in Russia's North Caucasus, a spokesman for the National Antiterrorist Committee (NAC) told Interfax on Friday.
Members of the so-called Kizlyar gang were trapped inside an apartment in a five-storey residential building in Yuzhno-Sukhokumsk, he said.
"The officers asked the militants to lay down their arms and surrender. But the criminals opened fire. One of them jumped out of the window, trying to escape. He was fatally wounded in the shootout. The operation continues. Up to three militants are believed to be still trapped inside the house," the spokesman said.
Attempts are being made to restart negotiations with the militants and persuade them to surrender, he said.
"Before the operation was launched, law enforcement agencies evacuated all tenants from the house where the militants were trapped, as well as from nearby houses," the spokesman said.