MOSCOW, Dhu-AlQa'dah 14, 1437, Aug 17, 2016, SPA -- Russian special forces troops killed four extremist militants in a shoot-out at a flat in St. Petersburg on Wednesday in a counter-terrorism operation targeting gang leaders from Russia's North Caucasus region, Reuters reported. Russia's National Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAC) said that three of the four men killed had been senior figures in the criminal underworld responsible for a string of terror attacks and attempted assassinations of police officers. "Special forces from Russia's FSB security service surrounded the bandits in a flat they were hiding in," the NAC said in a statement. "When asked to lay down their weapons and give up they opened fire." Automatic weapons, ammunition, and several improvised explosive devices had been found in the flat, it said. --SPA 19:11 LOCAL TIME 16:11 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w