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Former Ingush Minister Slain Outside Home

NAZRAN, Ingushetia -- Gunmen killed a former senior government minister in Ingushetia as he stood outside his home Saturday, police said.

Two gunmen sprayed Bashir Aushev with automatic weapon fire as he got out of his car at the gate outside his home in the region's main city, Nazran, at about 6:30 p.m., the regional Interior Ministry said. He died en route to the hospital.

Aushev was deputy prime minister under former Ingush President Murat Zyazikov, a KGB agent who was widely reviled by many Ingush for his repressive policies. Aushev, who was responsible for relations with law enforcement agencies in the region, resigned from the government when Zyazikov was replaced by the Kremlin in October. News reports said he had not worked since leaving government.

While in office, Aushev was attacked several times, and his home was hit by mortars, according to the government's press service, but he was never wounded.

On Wednesday, gunmen killed a deputy chief justice of the regional Supreme Court opposite a kindergarten in Nazran. Five other people were wounded in the attack.

On June 5, the interior minister of nearby Dagestan was killed by a sniper as he stood outside a restaurant where a wedding was taking place.

That killing prompted President Dmitry Medvedev to travel to Dagestan last week.

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