Imam, Two Relatives Reported Shot Dead In Daghestan

Unknown gunmen have reportedly shot dead a Muslim religious leader in the troubled Russian North Caucasus republic of Daghestan.

Officials said Kalimulla Ibragimov and his brother and father were killed when the gunmen opened fire on their car on the morning of October 30 in the town of Derbent.

Ibragimov was described as a self-styled imam who preached fundamentalist Islam. RIA Novosti quoted the Spiritual Directorate of Muslims of Daghestan as saying it did not know Ibragimov.

The website of the Kavkaz Center, the official mouthpiece of the North Caucasus insurgency, called Ibragimov a "martyr" and said he was an "ideological opponent of various sects of idolaters in Daghestan."

Violence in Russia's North Caucasus region, where militants are seeking to establish Islamic rule, leaves scores of people dead and injured each year.

Based on reporting by ITAR-TASS, AFP, Interfax, and AP