Gunmen Kill Four In Southern Russian Cafe

Bomb attacks and shootouts occur almost daily in Dagestan but a death toll of four is relatively rare.

 Gunmen shot dead four people, including a senior local official, in the southern Russian republic of Dagestan on Sunday, the latest in a string of attacks in the restive region, Russian news agencies reported.

Unidentified attackers opened fire on a roadside cafe in mainly Muslim Dagestan, just east of the regional capital Makhachkala, Interfax and RIA Novosti news agencies reported.

The head of Dagestan's Untsukulsky district, Kazimbek Akhmedov, two of his bodyguards and one other customer were killed in the attack, Interfax reported, citing an unnamed police official.

"The district head was celebrating a family occasion in the cafe. At around 7:15 pm Moscow time (1615 GMT) unidentified attackers opened fire with automatic weapons," Interfax quoted the source as saying.

Bomb attacks and shootouts occur almost daily in Dagestan but a death toll of four is relatively rare.

A mixture of economic frustration and heavy-handed police tactics have helped to fuel a low-level Islamist insurgency in Dagestan and neighbouring regions, including Chechnya.

Dagestan police officials were not immediately available for comment.