Russian police killed four militants in the turbulent North Caucasus republic of Chechnya, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said on Thursday, Xinhua reported.
The militants were gunned down in a special operation conducted near the village of Nokhtch-Keloi in the Shatoi district, Russian news agencies quoted Kadyrov as saying.
Three of the dead had been identified as suspects on a wanted list for a long time, he said, adding that the operation was still ongoing in the area.
Russia's volatile North Caucasus republics, particularly Chechnya, Dagestan and Ingushetia, have been plagued by violence stemming from militants and criminal gangs. The government is struggling to contain the insurgency.