Three Russian special forces officers were killed Wednesday in a security operation against suspected insurgents in the volatile North Caucasus, the National Anti-Terrorism Committee said.
Russia has stepped up security ahead of the Sochi Winter Olympics next month in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, amid fears of a possible attack organized by insurgents from the North Caucasus.
Host city Sochi is located around 550 kilometers (346 miles) from the Khasavyurt region of Dagestan where the special operation took place.
Police and special forces surrounded a private house in the village of Karlanyurt where a group of armed rebels was believed to be hiding, in an "anti-terrorism operation" the committee said in a report on its website.
"The bandits... tried to break through the encirclement, using machine-gun fire and hand grenades," it said.
"Three officers from special forces died, five others received wounds of varying severity."
At least two rebels were killed in the raid, the report said.
It alleged that one of the two men, Marat Idrisov, headed a rebel group in Dagestan and took part in a car bombing in December last year in the spa town of Pyatigorsk that killed three police.
"The surrounding area is now being searched by explosives experts from the security services," the National Anti-Terrorism Committee said.
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