MOSCOW, Oct 30: Attackers shot dead an imam and two of his relatives as he drove to morning prayers in Russia’s restive Dagestan region of the North Caucasus on Tuesday, an interior ministry official said.

“Unidentified people opened fire on Kalimulla Ibragimov’s car when he and his two relatives were headed to a Derbent mosque for the morning prayer,” spokeswoman for the Dagestan interior ministry Fatina Ubaidatova said.

Ibragimov was in the car with his brother and father when they were attacked in Caspian Sea city of Derbent at around 6:30 am (0230 GMT), said Dagestan’s Investigative Committee, cited by the RIA Novosti news agency.

“The men died on the spot from their wounds. The attackers fled in a car,” said the Investigative Committee in a statement.

“According to preliminary information, Karimulla Ibragimov, 49, was an imam,” the chief investigative body said, adding that it had opened probes into multiple murders and arms trafficking.—AFP