MAKHACHKALA, Russia (AP) — The Russian Interior Ministry says four suspected militants have been killed by police in the restive Caucasus province of Dagestan.

Police spokeswoman Fatina Ubaidatova said two gunmen were killed late Friday after they allegedly fired on police who tried to stop their vehicle for a check outside the village of Stalskoye.

Ubaidatova said Saturday another two suspected militants were killed in a separate clash with law enforcement agents in the village of Kvanada.

Dagestan, a predominantly Muslim province on the western shore of the Caspian Sea, has become the epicenter of the Islamist insurgency following the two separatist wars in neighboring Chechnya.

Militants there launch frequent attacks on police and other authorities.