Russian Azeri Diaspora Leader Survives Assassination Attempt

The leader of the local ethnic Azeri community in the central Russian region of Ulyanovsk has been wounded in an apparent assassination attack.

Local authorities say unknown assailants opened fire on Islam Guseinov, 43, the local leader of the All-Russia Azerbaijani Congress and his bodyguard in Ulyanovsk, the regional capital.

The bodyguard died on the spot, while Guseinov was hospitalized with minor injuries.

There has been no official comment on a possible motive.

Local authorities have launched an investigation.

Similar attacks against leaders and prominent members of the Azeri community in Russia have been reported this year.

In May, the leader of the ethnic Azeri community in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, Igbal Makhmudov, was shot dead by an unknown assailant in the town of Makiivka.

Based on reporting by ITAR-TASS and Interfax