Two Russian police officers were killed during a firefight in the southern part of the country on Sunday evening, local authorities have confirmed. All five perpetrators, who were also suspected of staging another attack on local police earlier this month, were shot dead during the incident.
The altercation occurred in the Karachaevo-Cherkessian Republic, when a group of assailants approached a temporary traffic control post in a vehicle before throwing an explosive device and opening fire with automatic weapons.
Officials said that as police returned fire, a bomb that one of the attackers had been carrying detonated. Two police officers who had been deployed as reinforcements from Kurgan Region were killed in the shootout, and four other personnel were injured.
Later, the Interior Ministry identified the deceased as Lt. Colonel Anton Valikov, who was the deputy head of a police department in Kurgan Region, and First Sgt. Andrey Artamonov, who served as a driver.
Five suspects were eliminated on the spot, the ministry stated, releasing a video from the scene showing weapons lying on the ground, as well as an SUV with punctured tires and a damaged windshield.
Investigators found several other explosive devices at the scene, and a probe into the matter is underway, the statement added.
Meanwhile, the regional branch of the Investigative Committee identified the perpetrators as local residents who had allegedly taken part in another attack on local police earlier this month, in which two police officers were killed.