 armed conflict in Russia. Police men killed. Three policemen were killed and eight others were injured in a shootout in Russia's North Caucasus Republic of Ingushetia. In what the authorities said was a counter-terrorist operation. Ingush authorities have begun a counter-terrorism operation in the town of Malgobek. A week after two police officers were wounded in an attack on a checkpoint at the border of North Ossetia. Ingushetia is a majority Muslim Republic in Russia's North Caucasus bordering Chechnya. While such clashes with authorities used to be relatively common in the early 2000s they have become rare in recent years. During a shootout with a gang hiding in a private house in the village of Zyazikov Yurt of Malgobek three policemen were killed and eight more were injured. Russian news agencies cited law enforcement sources as saying according to Russian media during the operation police had tried to detain the group but they opened fire. Last week, authorities reported that a police post on the border of Ingushetia and neighbouring North Ossetia had been shot at and that two policemen were injured. The North Caucasus was a hotbed of extremism after the breakup of the Soviet Union including two separatist wars in Chechnya.