Eight militants have been killed in a shoot-out with police in Chechnya, Russian news agencies reported.
Police shot the militants dead in southern Russia around midnight on October 8 after the men, traveling in two cars, opened fire when asked to stop at a checkpoint for inspection, the Interfax news agency said on October 9.
Interfax said the militants had opened fire with automatic weapons and thrown grenades at police officers who tried to stop them.
Four police officers were reportedly wounded in the shooting.
A spokesman for the Chechen Interior Ministry told the TASS news agency that the armed group had planned to stage a series of attacks in Chechnya, which is governed by Moscow-backed Ramzan Kadyrov who is accused of serious human rights abuses.
The group was led by Ali Demilkhanov, who was on a federal wanted list, Interfax reported. It said authorities had received advance intelligence about the militants and had deployed 200 men to try to intercept them.
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