Russian law enforcement agents in the North Caucasus republic of Kabardino-Balkaria killed two armed militants during a counterterrorism operation, the National Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAC) said Thursday. A firefight erupted between “members of a gang that is part of an international terrorist organization who were planning to commit a number of acts of sabotage and terrorism” outside the regional capital of Nalchik, the NAC said in a statement.“Two bandits were neutralized as a result of the counterterrorist operation,” the law enforcement agency added, describing the gun battle as a “brief exchange of fire.”A video released by the NAC showed Federal Security Service (FSB) agents inside a military vehicle firing toward a two-story home in a remote rural area in the pre-dawn hours.

An exchange of gunfire is also heard when the footage cuts to daybreak, which then ends with FSB agents surveying an empty house.The NAC said there were no casualties among civilians or any of the law enforcement agents involved in the counterterrorism operation.Russia’s North Caucasus regions have been the site of frequent attacks on law enforcement officials.

Armed attacks have also been staged by separatist insurgents in the republics of Chechnya and Dagestan.