MAKHACHKALA. Nov 10 (Interfax-AVN) - No militants were detained in an operation carried out by Dagestani Interior Ministry special operations units in Makhachkala on the night of Wednesday, the republic's Deputy Interior Minister Magomed Omarov told journalists.
Omarov suggested that the guerrillas might have fled the apartment in a nine-story building where they were hiding disguised as policemen.
An improvised explosive device and numerous books promoting extremist Islamic ideas were confiscated from the apartment, he said, adding that sappers are now defusing the bomb. Teams of investigators and prosecutor's office and Interior Ministry experts are working at the scene.
Three apartments were destroyed during the storm.
Several people, including two women, were detained, an Interfax correspondent reported.
At least two militants, including a guerrilla group leader known as "Muslim", are believed to have been hiding in the apartment, the Dagestani Interior Ministry said.