Suicide bomber kills 7 in Russia's southern region

Among the dead was Dzhabrail Kostoyev, deputy head of the Ingushetia interior ministry, two of his guards, and four civilians, a police spokesman said.

The news came simultaneously with a report from Interfax news agency that unknown gunmen had killed the governor of a detention centre in the region of Karachayevo-Cherkessia, further from Chechnya but also increasingly prone to violence.

Rebels have pledged total war against police in the North Caucasus, saying they are collaborating with Russian occupiers.

Islamist Web sites on Wednesday published comments from a rebel commander in Ingushetia, who pledged such attacks would increase.