Editorial Note: The following news reports are summaries from original sources. They may also include corrections of Arabic names and political terminology. Comments are in parentheses.

 

5 Russian Muslim Fighters Killed in Kabardino-Balkaria, 3 Killed in Dagestan

August 28, 2010

Five militants killed in special operation in North Caucasus

NALCHIK, August 28, 2010 (RIA Novosti)

Five militants were killed on Saturday morning in a special operation in Nalchik, the capital of Russia’s North Caucasus republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, a police source said.

The source told RIA Novosti that the militants had been hiding out in a flat in the city. He also said that no police officers were injured in the operation.

Four militants were also killed on Friday in nearby Dagestan, a spokesman for the republic's Interior Ministry said on Saturday.

Militant violence is common in Russia's mainly Muslim North Caucasus republics, especially Chechnya, Dagestan and Ingushetia.

Three militants killed in special operation in Dagestan

Dagestan. Files 02:01 28/08/2010, RIA Novosti.

Three militants were killed in Dagestan late on Friday in a shootout with police, a spokesman for the republic's interior ministry said on Saturday.

"Officers of the special purpose police unit clashed with militants while doing investigative work in the Karabudakhkent district. Three militants were killed. No deaths or injuries among officers have been reported," the source said.

The bodies of the militants are currently being identified.

Russia's mainly Muslim North Caucasus republics, especially Chechnya, Dagestan and Ingushetia, have seen an upsurge of militant violence lately, with attacks usually focusing on police and officials.

In a separate development, two people were injured in two unrelated incidents in Dagestan.

A member of a local electoral commission was hospitalized with gunshot wounds after being attacked by a group of assailants in his house.

In another incident, a man was injured when his car exploded in the village of Kasumkent. The cause of the blast is currently being established.

A counter-terrorism operation regime was declared in Nalchik, the capital of another North Caucasus republic, Kabardino-Balkaria.

According to a spokesman of the local FSB department, at least four suspected militants were blocked in an apartment in a five-storey building and are now engaged in a shootout with law enforcers.

The group members are suspected of committing terrorist attacks and killing police officers, the source added.

Two men diagnosed with anthrax in Dagestan

ROSTOV ON DON, August 28, 2010 (RIA Novosti)

Two residents of a remote farmstead in Russia's North Caucasus Republic of Dagestan have been diagnosed with anthrax, a spokesman for the regional emergencies service told RIA Novosti.

"The patients are two men, born in 1957 and 1967. They are now in satisfactory condition," the source said.

The two men contracted the disease after eating an anthrax-infected sheep.

Four people also living at the farmstead have been vaccinated against the disease and received prevention treatment. Their health is now being monitored, and none developed symptoms so far.

All sheep at the farm have been quarantined for a month. No other cases of the disease have been detected.

Anthrax affects both wild mammals and domestic cattle that ingest or inhale the bacterial spores while grazing. Humans can contract the disease if they are exposed to the blood or tissue of infected animals. It can be highly lethal, but in some forms responds well to antibiotic treatment.

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