Official`s car attacked in North Caucasus, four killed

A top official`s car has become another casualty of a fresh violence outbreak in the Russian Caucasian republic of Dagestan. The assault claimed the lives of the officer himself, his daughter and nephew, as well as his driver.

The bloody attack happened in Dagestan`s capital, Makhachkala, early on Friday, when the deputy head of the Federal Penal Enforcement Service was on his way to office.

Militants unleashed fire from a passing car. The official`s car caught fire as a result and left all the occupants dead.

The car was simply riddled with bullets, but the people inside it were reportedly alive, though severely wounded. However, they were unable to leave the burning car which turned to ashes in minutes.

Operatives have launched a manhunt for the assailants.

The assault on the top-ranked official is likely linked with his professional activities within the prison system. The motive for militant attacks is often revenge on law enforcement and prosecution authorities who are involved in the legal or physical fight with the insurgency and terrorism in the region.

Friday`s bloody shooting follows the recent flare-up of violence in the southern Russian republic.

On Thursday, one police officer was killed and some 60 other people injured as a result of a double terrorist attack in Makhachkala.

Earlier in the day, a senior officer`s car came under heavy machine gun fire in the Buynaksk region of Dagestan. The local police department chief was heading to his office when the accident happened. Two of his guards were killed in the shootout, but the officer himself was not hurt.

The president of the Republic of Dagestan has interrupted his business trip in Moscow and flown to Makhachkala following the deterioration of the situation in his region.

sections: Accidents