Eleven people, four policemen and seven civilians, were killed Thursday in an attack in Russia's North Caucasus republic of Dagestan, Russian news agencies reported.

Unidentified gunmen opened fire at a police post near the Caspian Sea town of Buinaksk on Thursday night, killing four police officers, a spokesman for local interior ministry was quoted as saying by Itar-Tass and Interfax.

The attackers then came to a nearby sauna and shot seven women dead, the spokesman said.

Investigators are working at the scene and the search for the assailants is underway, he said.

The Kremlin in April formally ended an anti-terrorist operation in Chechnya, which has experienced two bloody separatist wars in the past 15 years.

Chechnya, along with its neighboring republics of Dagestan and Ingushetia, has seen a rise in violence in recent months, with attacks on police, troops and authorities being reported almost daily.

(Xinhua News Agency August 14, 2009)