Militant Leader Dead in Shootout as Russia Hunts 'Black Widows'

A senior militant leader was killed during a gun battle with Russian security forces as they hunted three Muslim women dubbed “black widows” and other terror suspects ahead of the Winter Olympics, officials said.

As the leader of the so called “Babayurtovskiy” gang, Eldar Magatov was suspected of bombings, attacks on law enforcement officials and extorting money from businessmen, the National Anti-Terror Committee (NAK) said in a statement. They operated in the restive region of district of Dagestan.

Officers managed to negotiate the release of two women and two children who were holed up with Magatov before he engaged them in the fatal firefight, the NAK added.

In a separate incident, Interior Ministry spokeswoman Fatina Ubaidatova told the Associated Press that troops elsewhere in Dagestan had defused an explosive device placed near a village administration building and engaged in a firefight with militants holed up in a house.

Meanwhile, officers continued to hunt for the so called "black widow" terror suspects who they believe are planning to target the final stages of the Olympic torch relay with suicide bomb attacks.

Wanted posters distributed by police say that Jhannet Tsakhaeva, 34, and 26-year-old Zaira Alieva, who also hail from Dagestan and Turkmenistan native Oksana Aslanova, 26, have been dispatched by underground groups to attack between Tuesday and Thursday.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAmerican passenger drafted goodbye texts to her family as Flydubai plane plummeted

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation pushes embattled New York prosecutor into national spotlight

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

It's thought they are planning to strike in Rostov-on-Don, where the torch is expected to arrive Wednesday, before making its way to the Olympic city of Sochi.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAmerican passenger drafted goodbye texts to her family as Flydubai plane plummeted

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation pushes embattled New York prosecutor into national spotlight

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

In addition, wanted posters seen by NBC News on Tuesday identify two men — Ruslan Saufutdinov, 21, and Murad Musaev, 25 — who the posters say are planning attacks in southern Russia.

Reuters contributed to this report.