Russian counter-terrorism police say they prevented an imminent Islamic State attack in the Siberian city of Tyumen, as two armed terror suspects were eliminated in an intense raid with heavy gunfire and explosions.

The militants, who were holed up in a private home, refused to lay down their arms and opened fire at the law enforcement on Friday. “They were neutralized during a gunfight,” the National Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAC) said.

There were no casualties among civilians and security personnel as a result of the exchange of fire.

The terrorists were planning an attack in the public place in the city and the decision to launch an operation was made swiftly, the NAC said.

Numerous unconfirmed videos on social media appeared to show the nighttime operation in full swing, with heavy gunfire, a building on fire, and a score of police cars and military vehicles amassed in the streets.

Тюмень.

Прямо сейчас люди, похожие на полицию и ФСБ, штурмуют дом, в котором предположительно засели люди, имеющие отношение к запрещённой на РФ организации ИГИЛ. pic.twitter.com/IS0BAm5EeF — Nina Borovik (@BorovikNina) April 12, 2019

DETAILS TO FOLLOW </s> MOSCOW, April 22 (Reuters) - Russian authorities said on Saturday security forces had killed two armed militants who had been trained by Islamic State and were planning a series of "terrorist crimes", Russian news agencies reported.

The National Anti-Terror Committee said the two men had been killed in the Stavropol region of Southern Russia after a shoot out with security forces who had tried to stop their car.

"The bandits have been preliminarily identified: one was the leader of a cell, trained in Islamic State camps and returned to Russia to carry out terrorist acts. The other was an active cell member," Interfax news agency quoted the committee as saying.

Russia has been on heightened alert after a suicide bomber killed 16 people in an attack on the St Petersburg metro earlier this month.

Russia's Federal Security Service said on Friday a gunman had burst into one of its regional offices in the far east of the country and opened fire, killing one of its employees and a visitor.

The Site Intelligence Group, a U.S.-based monitoring service, said Islamic State claimed responsibility for that attack. (Reporting by Jack Stubbs; Editing by Louise Ireland)
Russian security services kill two ISIL-affiliated terrorists who were planning an attack in the city of Tyumen.