Russian authorities say two suspected terrorists with ISIS ties killed in North Caucasus

Russia’s National Antiterrorism Committee (NAK) has said that two suspected militants with alleged links to the extremist group Islamic State (IS) have been killed in the North Caucasus region of Kabardino-Balkaria.

The NAK said on April 3 that the two men were shot dead overnight after they refused police orders to stop a car they were traveling in and opened fire on the police instead.

There was no way to independently verify the committee’s statement.

Islamic militants in Russia’s North Caucasus regions, and sometimes in adjacent areas, have mounted frequent attacks on police, moderate Muslims, and local officials.

The insurgency in the North Caucasus stems from two post-Soviet wars pitting government forces against separatists in Chechnya, another republic in the North Caucasus.

Some militants there have posted videos online in which they have sworn allegiance to IS, which is outlawed as a terrorist group in Russia and many other countries

Russian authorities have estimated that some 2,000 Russian citizens have fought alongside IS militants in Syria.

Source: Rferl