Five policemen were killed and two militants were destroyed in Dagestan, a republic in Northern Caucasus, on Thursday, a source at the National Anti-Terror Committee told Itar-Tass. Unidentified gunmen opened fire at a local police patrol in the outskirts of Chanko village of the Botlikhsky district of Dagestan at around midday on Thursday. The fire came from the mountainous and woodland area. Five policemen were killed. Additional forces sent to the Botlikhsky district chased and blocked a group of militants, two of whom died in the fight. Their identities are being established. A search operation in the Botlikhsky district is under way.