Russian police laid siege to an apartment block in the country's turbulent south today, saying militants fighting for the independence of Chechnya were holed up inside, Russian media reported.
Police were talking with the militants in the centre of the Caucasus city of Nalchik in the Kabardino-Balkariya region, about 150 km (90 miles) west of Chechnya, Interfax news agency said.
"We are talking about members of illegal armed formations which took part in different terror acts and military actions on the territory of Chechnya," Interfax quoted Kabardino-Balkariya Prosecutor General Yuri Ketov as saying.
Itar-Tass news agency said the house was surrounded by about 100 police and armoured vehicles.
"We are not talking about storming the apartment block," the agency quoted an Interior Ministry official as saying.
In earlier raids today, police detained three suspects and seized guns, grenades and "extremist literature", an Interior Ministry spokeswoman said.
Nalchik lies in the foothills of Mount Elbrus, Europe's highest mountain, and the rugged terrain provides a wealth of hiding places within a few hours' drive from Chechnya, where Russian troops have been fighting rebels for a decade.