Russian special forces kill two in raid against Caucasus militants

Heavily-armed Russian special forces on Wednesday raided an apartment building in Saint Petersburg in an operation targeting North Caucasus militants, reportedly killing two suspects.

The FSB security service said in a statement quoted by Russian agencies that the raid was part of an operation to detain “wanted persons accused of participating in illegal armed groups in the North Caucasus”.

“Criminals were destroyed by return fire when they attempted to resist,” the FSB said, without specifying how many suspects were killed.

Local online newspaper Fontanka.ru reported that two alleged militants were killed and three arrested.

Television footage showed heavily-armed men in balaclavas cordoning off the multi-storey apartment block on the outskirts of the northwestern city famed for its tsarist-era palaces.