Russian forces storm bldgs to free hostages

Members of Russian special armed forces storm a shop in the southern city of Nalchik yesterday, where gunmen were holed-up following a deadly rampage the previous day. Russian security forces Friday stormed a police station and a shop where gunmen were hiding following a deadly rampage in the southern city of Nalchik, killing 10 rebels and freeing at least five hostages. PHOTO: AFP

"All the embers of militant resistance have been put out and all the hostages have been released," Interfax news agency quoted Gennady Gubin, prime minister of the southern Kabardino-Balkaria province, as saying.

A heavily-armed group was intercepted and killed by security forces around the suburb of Chegem in the latest attempt by militants to break out of an encirclement of the city, ITAR-TASS news agency reported.

Troops used grenades and automatic weapons Friday morning in an assault on a local police station where gunmen had barricaded themselves in and taken hostages.

Russian Deputy Prosecutor General Vladimir Kolesnikov said after the operation that the troops had killed eight gunmen and freed five hostages, Interfax news agency said.

In a separate assault on a souvenir shop where other gunmen were hiding, militants returned fire and an AFP journalist on the scene saw one soldier shot in the leg, with RIA-Novosti reporting two militants killed.

The operations Friday came a day after scores of armed militants -- estimates placed the number at between 100 and 300 -- launched simultaneous attacks on government installations in Nalchik, triggering fierce street battles that left dozens dead.

RIA-Novosti said 24 law enforcement personnel died in the violence, while the interior ministry said 61 gunmen had been killed. Several reports also spoke of 12 local civilians killed, but none of the figures could immediately be verified independently.

Thursday's commando-style operation targeted police stations, ministerial and security offices and a private armoury in the capital of Kabardino-Balkaria.

The province is one of seven Caucasus republics belonging to the Russian Federation, Chechnya, Dagestan and Ingushetia being among the others.

A website frequently used by Chechen rebels, Kavkazcentre, said Thursday's attack was carried out by a unit of the local detachment of the armed Chechen rebel forces, which it identified as the "Yarmuk Jamat of Kabardino-Balkaria."