Russian security forces kill 6 alleged IS militants in North Caucasus, NAC reported

Six suspected members of the Islamic State group were reportedly killed in a gun battle in the volatile North Caucasus region of Russia, the Associated Press reported yesterday.

The country’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAC) described the incident as a “counterterrorism operation” in Karabulak, a town with a population of about 30,000 in Russia’s semi-autonomous Republic of Ingushetia.

Rebels linked to Sunni extremist groups have fought two full-scale wars with Russian troops in Chechnya, a region neighboring Ingushetia, over the past 20 years. Although the insurgency has been largely suppressed, sporadic attacks persist.