in southern Russia Rostov-on-don, Russia, Jan 8, SPA -- Four alleged militants wereshot and killed Saturday in the restive southern Russianregion of Ingushetia, the Federal Security Service said,after more than 100 police and security agents backed byfive armored personnel carriers surrounded a house wherethey had holed up. Yuri Smolyaninov, a spokesman for the Ingush regionalbranch of the security service, the main successor to theSoviet KGB, said that the special operation to eliminatethe militants had been completed by early afternoon. The alleged militants were suspected of involvement in anovernight series of attacks on Ingush police installationsin June in which about 90 people were killed, said a dutyofficer in the Russian Interior Ministry's southernregional branch in Rostov-on-Don, who spoke on condition ofanonymity. The operation to capture or kill the militants began earlySaturday morning, Russian news agencies reported. Therewere no casualties among law enforcement officers orcivilians in the shootout that ensued, the InteriorMinistry duty officer said.--SPA1346 Local Time 1046 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/230855