Surrender ends Russian flat siege

Two suspects have surrendered to security forces in the Russian North Caucasus city of Nalchik after a siege at a flat, Russian media report.

Security forces in the Russian North Caucasus city of Nalchik laid siege to the flat after reportedly coming under fire from inside.

A man and a woman surrendered after a stand-off lasting about four hours.

Security sources said two assault rifles and ammunition had been found inside the apartment.

Shots were fired from the flat, which is in a five-storey residential building, when security forces moved in around midnight (2000 GMT) and called on those inside to surrender, a law enforcement source told Interfax news agency earlier.

However, a security source said later that the suspects had "offered no resistance", and no members of the security forces had been hurt.

Residents in the area were evacuated as security forces took up position on Tyrnauzskaya Street in Nalchik, capital of the Russian republic of Kabardino-Balkaria.

An unnamed law enforcement source told Ria-Novosti news agency that both police and Federal Security Service (FSB) officers were involved in the operation to detain "members of illegal armed groups".

Elbrus operation

Since the 2004 school siege at Beslan in neighbouring North Ossetia, Russia has repeatedly targeted what it says are Islamic extremists operating in Kabardino-Balkaria.

Nalchik saw its most dramatic militant attack in October 2005, when fighters linked to Chechen separatists staged a large-scale, armed assault on government buildings.

Russia responded swiftly, deploying hundreds of troops and special forces.

An extensive FSB-led operation against militants has been under way in Kabardino-Balkaria since 30 June, focusing on the area around Elbrus, Europe's highest mountain.

Since 2007, 32 attacks on law enforcement agencies have occurred in the Elbrus area, according to the Russian authorities. Nine policemen were killed and 27 wounded in the attacks.