A Russian Army armored personnel carrier

NALCHIK, RUSSIAN FEDERATION: A Russian Army armored personnel carrier (APC) and special police forces are seen outside a multistorey block of flats where suspected pro-Chechen militants fired back to Russian special forces, on the outskirts of Nalchik, the capital of the small republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, near war-torn Chechnya, 27 January 2005. Russian special forces backed up by heavy armor stormed an apartment block where a group of suspected Islamic militants had been holed up for more than 36 hours. After more than five hours of battle amid booms of exploding grenades and the racket of machine gun fire, Russian officials proclaimed victory and said that all seven militants had been killed in the assault, including their leader. AFP PHOTO (Photo credit should read STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images)