Six policemen and nine militants were killed in separate shootings Wednesday in the North Caucasus, police said.
Four policemen were killed and three wounded in the Dagestani village of Kostek during a siege that left five militants dead, regional police spokesman Vyacheslav Gasanov said. Police found weapons and explosives in the apartment where the rebels were hiding, he said.
In a separate incident, four gunmen were killed after they refused police orders to pull over and opened fire on the officers, Gasanov said.
Two policemen died in further attacks — one in Dagestan and another in the nearby Kabardino-Balkaria province.