MOSCOW, May 28 (Xinhua) -- Several militants, including a gang leader, were killed on Thursday during a special operation in the southern Russian region of Kabardino-Balkaria, the Itar-Tass news agency reported, citing local law enforcement agency.

    Police fired at gunmen hiding in a four-storey house early Thursday, killing several of them, including Anzor Astemirov, one of the masterminds behind the attack on the regional capital of Nalchik in 2005, Itar-Tass reported.

    Police have cordoned off the area and specialists are checking the apartment where the militants were blocked, the report said.

    In October 2005, militants believed to be linked to Chechen separatists staged an attack targeting main army, police and security bodies in Nalchik. Some 140 people, both militants and security officers, died in the attack, official reports said.