MAKHACHKALA, Russia (Reuters) - Russian special forces battled a group of gunmen on Thursday hiding in a scruffy residential tower block in the capital of the southern republic of Dagestan which borders Chechnya, television footage showed.

Russian news agencies and television said four fighters had been killed in the battle which lasted through the night but officials declined to confirm this figure. No bodies have been seen and there are reports of continued gunfire in the area.

Reports from Dagestan of police shootouts and attacks by rebels fighting Russia have become more frequent over the past few months fuelling worries the Chechen conflict has taken root in neighbouring provinces.

The television footage showed two spotlights illuminating a 10th floor apartment at night in Makhachkala from which a gunman sprayed automatic machine gun fire.

In a daytime television shot, heavily armed Russian soldiers checked their weapons, manoeuvred behind vehicles and crouched behind walls.

Russian special forces also raided another suspected rebel hideout on Wednesday evening in Makhachkala and said they found a weapons cache and maps of the local area.

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