MOSCOW, October 25 - RAPSI. Law enforcement officers found an explosive substance equivalent to 1.5 kilograms in TNT when they stormed on the apartment of a group of militants in Kazan.

On Wednesday, a police task force unit raided a militants' apartment in a residential building on Khimikov Street, Kazan. Two of the militants were killed. A Federal Security Service employee was also shot dead during the raid.

Vladimir Markin, the Investigative Committee's official spokesperson, said that the militants were suspected of attempting to assassinate religious leader Mufti of Tatarstan, Ildus Fayzov, and of the murder of the head of the Spiritual Muslim Board of Tatarstan, Valiulla Yakupov.

On July 19, a car exploded in Kazan injuring Fayzov. On the same day, Valiulla Yakupov, was shot dead near his home. Both religious leaders were known for their crusade against extremism.

"Two pistols and 600 grams of an explosive substance equivalent to 1.5 kilograms in TNT were discovered at the apartment," the message reads.