Russian forces kill 2 gunmen in south

MOSCOW, Dec 25 (Reuters) Security forces killed two gunmen believed to be Islamist militants and seized another in a volatile part of Russia's south today, media reported.

Some reports linked the militants, under siege in an apartment block in the city of Cherkessk, to the murders of police and other security service officers.

Russian television showed servicemen taking up position in a central district of the city to the west of Chechnya, where Russian forces battling separatists for more than a decade engage in regular skirmishes with fighters.

The remaining activist was holed up in a Cherkessk apartment, firing periodically at security forces.

Operations by security forces against Islamist militants are undertaken regularly in and around Chechnya.

REUTERS MS PM1835