GROZNY, Russia (Reuters) -- Six young women have been found shot dead in Russia's restive Chechnya region, prosecutors said.
Three of the dead were found in the regional capital, Grozny, while another three were discovered on roadsides outside the city, said Mariam Nalayeva, spokeswoman for the investigative arm of the local prosecutor's office.
The women, aged between 25 and 35, had all suffered gunshots to the head and chest, leading investigators to believe the deaths may be related, RIA Novosti news agency reported, citing an investigator on the case.
Interfax news agency reported that a Kalashnikov assault rifle had been used in several of the killings.
There are sporadic flare-ups of violence in Chechnya, which is now relatively peaceful after two wars fought by separatist rebels and Islamist militants against Moscow's rule starting in 1994.
The region is run by Ramzan Kadyrov, a former rebel who declares loyalty to the Kremlin.
Earlier this week, three police officers and one passerby were killed by a bomb explosion near an apartment building in Chechnya after police went to investigate a report of gunfire.