Probe Launched After Daghestan Guard Slays 7

Officials in the Russian republic of Daghestan have launched a probe to determine the motives and circumstances behind a shooting spree by a border guard that left seven fellow guards dead and six others wounded.

The accused shooter, Ramazan Aliyev, 31, was shot dead by other servicemen during the bloodshed on August 28 in the Daghestani town of Belidzhi.

Unconfirmed reports suggested that Aliyev had been seen reading books with apparent Islamic extremist content.

Heavily Muslim-populated Daghestan is one of the most volatile republics of Russia's North Caucasus, where Islamic insurgents professing the extreme Wahabbist form of Islam regularly attack police, military personnel, and moderate Muslims.

Based on reporting by RIA-Novosti and ITAR-TASS