High-ranking Dagestan administration official killed

Garun Kurbanov, the head of the analytical department and press service of the Dagestan Republic's leader, was shot dead in Makhachkala early on Thursday, an interior ministry spokesman said. "Unidentified gunmen opened fire on Kurbanov's car. According to initial reports, the official and his driver were killed," the source said. Another source said the official was shot dead while heading to his car. The circumstances surrounding the attack are being verified. More that a decade after the end of a federal war against separatists in Russia's North Caucasus republic of Chechnya, Russian security forces continue to fight militants in other regions in the area, who stage frequent attacks on security forces, police and civilians.