Two die in shooting in Dagestan

Several rebels from among those who killed police officers in the Untsukul district of Dagestan last night have been identified, Magomed Gazimagomedov, Dagestan's Deputy Internal Affairs Minister, told journalists on Tuesday. He did not give the names of the rebels though.

The incident occurred when the law enforcers were chasing a 10th model Zhiguli car near the exit from the Gimri motorway tunnel to the Untsukul district.

The rebels abandoned the car in the tunnel. Some of them are supposed to have gone into hiding in the forest in the mountains, while the others may have gone through the tunnel.

A large-scale operation is conducted by special units of the Internal Affairs Ministry, also involving servicemen from the 136th motorised brigade of the Defence Ministry and heavy military materiel.

According to Mr Gazimagomedov, grenade launchers and bullet cases have been discovered in the special operation district. This gives evidence that police officers have been able to prevent terrorist acts in the Untsukul district, thinks the deputy minister.

A large-scale raid involving military units and heavy materiel began at 8.00 am today. Major rebel forces may be concentrated in the district, according to a source in Dagestan's Internal Affairs Ministry quoted by RIA Novosti.

The operation has been preceded by a skirmish with rebels that resulted in two policemen killed, including Khajimurat Azizov, chief of the Untsukul District Division of Internal Affairs (DDIA), the republican Internal Affairs Ministry said earlier today.

A police vehicle was shot at not far from the entry to the tunnel connecting the Untsukul and the Buinaksk districts at about 1.00 am last night, the officer on duty of the Untsukul DDIA said.

Police backups, arriving at the scene, were ambushed. As a result, Khajimurat Azizov and another officer whose name is not disclosed were killed in the skirmish. One more policeman, chief of staff at the same police division was admitted to hospital with gunshot wounds.

The rebels who shot the police officers, presumably four in number, hid in the tunnel. It was then blocked from both sides, but they still managed to escape through ventilation shafts. In the tunnel, they abandoned their VAZ-2110 which was found later.

• Police officer wounded in Dagestan