Russian forces kill five militants in Dagestan

Russian law enforcement forces have killed five militants during a counterterrorism operation in the violence-plagued North Caucasus Republic of Dagestan.

Russia’s anti-terrorism committee said in a statement on Friday that the armed men were killed as they engaged in bitter clashes with security forces in the city of Derbent, situated 1,705 kilometers (1,059 miles) south of Moscow, state-run RIA Novosti reported.

The statement added that a militant commander, identified as Sherif Akhmedov, was among the gunmen killed.

Akhmedov was reportedly involved in at least 20 terrorism-related attacks, including assaults on police and local officials as well as a synagogue, over the past two years.

Russia has been fighting militants since the mid 1990s in its North Caucasus region, where the republics of Chechnya, Dagestan, and Ingushetia have been the scene of sporadic attacks and militant clashes.

Violence first broke out in Chechnya in 1994, when 250,000 people were forced to flee to neighboring territories because of a war between Chechen separatists and the Russian army.

After a short-lived period of relative peace from 1996 to 1999, war resumed following attacks blamed on Chechen militant groups.

An estimated 100,000 people have been killed and thousands more displaced in the conflict.