A regional minister in the Russian republic of Ingushetia has been shot dead. A group of men opened fire on Construction Minister Ruslan Amerkhanov in his office.

Ingushetia has become increasingly lawless recently. At the end of June, President Yunus-Bek Yevkurov was seriously injured in a assassination attempt. Since then, a number of human rights activists have been murdered.

Just like the neighbouring Russian republics of Chechnya and Dagestan, Ingushetia has faced years of rebellion by Islamist insurgents.

Ingushetia flag (flickr.com/Thomas Roche)