Gunmen shoot dead two Russian soldiers

Gunmen opened fire on vehicles transporting soldiers in Russia’s restive region of Ingushetia, killing two troops and wounding five, Interfax news agency reported Monday.

Attackers armed with automatic weapons opened fire overnight on two vehicles of soldiers close to the village of Iandar in the Nazran region, the agency said, citing local security officials.

The wounded troops were taken to hospital.

Ingushetia is a predominantly Muslim region of Russia’s North Caucasus which neighbours war-torn Chechnya and has been troubled in recent years by a violent Islamist insurgency that has claimed scores of lives.