Head of Russia's Ingushetia region badly wounded in assassination bid

Yunus-Bek Yevkurov was badly hurt when a roadside bomb exploded as his convoy drove past. At least three of his bodyguards and his younger brother, Uvais, were killed instantly, according to sources. The president's head of security were also seriously hurt.

The president was undergoing surgery in the intensive care unit of a hospital in the Ingush capital, Nazran, the Interfax news agency reported. Doctors said his condition was serious but stable. An emergency plane was on its way to take him to Moscow for further treatment.

The explosion occurred around 8:30 a.m. (0430 GMT) as Yevkurov traveled outside the Ingush regional center, Nazran, said Ingush Interior Ministry spokeswoman Madin Khadziyeva.

Federal investigators said a car that was parked on the side of the road detonated just as Yevkurov's armored car passed.

Yevkurov, who has won Russia's highest military award, earned renown as a commander in the 1999 Kosovo war when he led his paratroops on a 300 kilometre march to occupy its airport ahead of NATO forces.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev appointed Yevkurov as Ingush president in October after sacking his deeply unpopular predecessor Murat Zyazikov for failing to stem endemic corruption, unemployment and violence.

A predominantly Muslim region that shares close cultural and linguistic ties with Chechnya, Ingushetia has over the last years been fighting an Islamist insurgency that has cost the lives of scores of security personnel.