MOSCOW: Russia's counter-terrorism agency says security forces in Dagestan have killed three militants who had sworn allegiance to ISIS, including one who had returned from Syria this year.
Police say nearly a third of the estimated 3,000 Russians who have gone to fight alongside ISIS militants in Syria are from Dagestan, a predominantly Muslim republic in southern Russia where an extremist insurgency has simmered for years.
The National Anti-Terrorist Committee announced Sunday that security forces had killed the three militants after they refused to surrender.
President Vladimir Putin said one of the goals of Russia's air campaign in Syria was to prevent Russians fighting with ISIS from coming back. Most are deterred from returning by the knowledge that they would likely be killed or face long prison terms.
Patrick Abboud