Russian security officers in Makhachkala, jointly with police officers, have eliminated the leader of the Vilayat Caucasus of the international terrorist organization Islamic State, Rustam Aselderov ( aka Abu Muhammad), and four militants from his close entourage, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said in a press release on Sunday.

Aselderov was involved in the preparation and carrying out of a number of terror attacks in Russia and a series of murders, according to the FSB.

During the special operation in the village of Talgi, Leninsky district, Makhachkala, on December 3, officers blocked a property where the terrorists were hiding. "When offered to surrender during the negotiating process the militants fired an assault rifle against the law enforcement officers, who fired back, causing the criminals to sustain injuries incompatible with life," the FSB said.