Suicide bomber kills 7 in Russia's south

MOSCOW - A suicide bomber killed seven people including a top Russian policeman today when he drove his car into a police convoy in the southern Russian region of Ingushetia, local media reported.

Russian news agencies reported that among the dead was Dzhabrail Kostoyev, deputy head of the Ingushetia interior ministry, two of his guards, and four civilians. It was not clear if the suicide bomber was included in the total.

Ingushetia, which borders Chechnya and is inhabited by people closely related to the Chechens, has in recent years been infected by the fighting that has plagued its neighbour since the end of the Soviet Union.

- REUTERS