Gunmen in Russia's volatile southern region of Dagestan killed three people as they tried to assassinate a senior official, Russian media said today.
The attack last night was similar to last year's assassination attempt on the republic's veteran Interior Minister Adilgirei Magomedtagirov.
An interior ministry spokeswoman, quoted by the media, said attackers first fired at a police car in Dagestan's capital Makhachkala, killing an officer. As Mr Magomedtagirov left his car and rushed to the scene, attackers blew up the car, killing his driver and bodyguard.
Mr Magomedtagirov, who has run the interior ministry since 1998, was not in the car when it exploded and television footage showed his wrecked Toyota Landcruiser.
"It seems obvious to me that it was an assassination attempt on the minister because the explosion occurred when his car was driving by," interior ministry spokeswoman Anzhela Martirosova told Russian television.
In August 2006, attackers blew up a local prosecutor and ambushed Mr Magomedtagirov when he was on his way to that attack. Mr Magomedtagirov escaped unhurt, but two people accompanying him were killed.
Dagestan borders Chechnya and bomb attacks on security forces and gangland killings of local officials are a regular occurrence. Dagestan is also a cauldron of ethnic groups and powerful clans.
Russian officials say that Chechen rebels, pressed hard by Russian and local pro-Moscow forces at home, are trying to get a foothold in neighbouring regions such as Ingushetia and Dagestan.
Russian military forces yesterday killed at least four rebels during a special operation in Ingushetia. Today, Russian media said another rebel blew himself up when cornered by security forces.