Russian troops killed four rebels hiding in a house in the Russian city of Nazran, 30 km (20 miles) from the border with Chechnya, in a firefight on Saturday, officials said. Automatic gunfire and explosions started in the early morning in the town close to the border with Chechnya, where rebels have fought Russian rule for a decade.
The RIA Novosti agency said five armoured vehicles and more than 100 servicemen took part in the battle to subdue four men who refused to show their documents to police.
By the end of the battle, the house lay in ruins, its red-brick walls shattered and roof caved in. White smoke rose from the wreckage.
"During the (house-to-house document checking) operation, the bandits showed armed resistance," said Yuri Smolyaninov, spokesman for the FSB security service.
"They opened fire from automatic weapons and threw grenades. In the course of the battle, they were destroyed. No civilians were injured."
A policeman who asked not to be named said local residents recognised two of the four killed men as Ingushetians.
The streets of Nazran, normally packed with people on a Saturday, were deserted and Russian border troops guarding a base in the city were on full alert.
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