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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| 2 top officials whacked in Ingushetia |
| 2006-06-10 |
| Two pro-Kremlin officials were assassinated by gunfire minutes apart on Friday in Ingushetia, a republic bordering Chechnya in Russia's volatile North Caucasus that has been destabilized by the region's separatist and Islamic insurgency. The assassinations, by gunmen firing from at least one car, appeared to be another round of carefully timed assaults against the government. The first attack killed a woman responsible for helping returning Russian families resettle in the region. The second killed a senior police commander as he drove his three young children to school. The children were also killed, as were the commander's two guards, bringing the death toll in the shootings to seven. The attacks continued the pattern of sporadic but intensive and often coordinated violence in Ingushetia, where an underground Islamic force, aligned with Chechen separatists, has said it has been carrying out what it calls "responsive measures" against officials involved in government counterterrorism activities in the region. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |