Alleged Killer Of Journalist And University Rector Shot Dead In North Caucasus

Russia's Interior Ministry's says the main suspect in two high-profile murders in the North Caucasus Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria has been killed.

The ministry's press center reported that Zeytun Boziyev, 30, was shot dead on January 29 in a special operation in Nalchik , the republic's capital.

Boziyev was on a wanted list as the main suspect in last month's killing of a popular television journalist Kazbek Gekkiev and the Agriculture University rector Boris Zherukov.

Zherukov was also the leader of the local branch of the ruling United Russia party.

Islamic militants in Russia's restive North Caucasus region have staged numerous shootings and bomb attacks targeting officials and police.

The region's most violence-plagued republics include Kabardino-Balkaria, Daghestan, Ingushetia, and Chechnya.

Based on reporting by Interfax and ITAR-TASS