Russia — Police in Russia's volatile North Caucasus region said they killed seven suspected separatist rebels in two coordinated raids on insurgent hideouts.
Both of Wednesday's raids were conducted in Dagestan, a hotbed of extremist violence. Police said five rebels were killed in the district of Kaspiisk after police surrounded an apartment they took shelter in. In the capital, Makhachkala, two suspected insurgents who had barricaded themselves into a home were killed in a gunfight.
Dagestan and surrounding provinces have been plagued by attacks by Islamic militants who have spread across the region after two separatist wars in neighboring Chechnya.
Rights activists have accused police of fueling the unrest with abuses against civilians under the pretext of fighting extremism.
