Top court judge killed in southern Russia's violence-plagued Dagestan region

A judge from the top court in southern Russia's violence-plagued Dagestan region was shot dead on Tuesday.

Photo: Top court judge killed in southern Russia's violence-plagued Dagestan region

Dagestan Supreme Court Justice Kurban Pashayev was shot more than 10 times with a pistol in the entranceway of his apartment building in the provincial capital, Makhachkala, city police spokesman Mavludin Galimov said.

The province in Russia's restive North Caucasus is troubled by violence linked to the separatist conflict in neighboring Chechnya, a police crackdown on Islamic militancy and internal power struggles.

In Ingushetia, another province that borders Chechnya, an 18-year-old rookie in an elite police unit was fatally shot Tuesday by attackers who fired at him at close range from a passing car as he was walking home after work, the Ingush Interior Ministry said.

No suspects have been detained in either attack.

Law enforcement officers and government officials are often targeted in attacks in the North Caucasus.