MOSCOW:- Five militants who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group have been killed in Russia's volatile Northern Caucasus region, the national anti-terrorism committee said Monday. Armed militants were killed in a shootout with Russia's FSB security service and other law enforcement agencies in the Karachay-Cherkessia region, the committee said in a statement. Automatic rifles, ammunition and improvised explosive devices were recovered from the scene, authorities said, adding that a senior militant was thought to be among the casualties. –AFP

"It is known that members of this band have pledged allegiance to the ISIS international terrorist organisation and planned to commit terror-related crimes in crowded places," the committee said. ISIS is another widely used name for IS.

The announcement came after the CIA helped Russia thwart a terror attack on the Kazan Cathedral, one of the most famous landmarks in Saint Petersburg.