One killed, 11 injured in gun attack at fortress in southern Russia

MOSCOW: A gunman opened fire on a group of tourists visiting a historic fortress in Dagestan in southern Russia on Tuesday evening, killing one and injuring eleven, an official in the region's health ministry said on Wednesday.

"As a result of a gun attack 12 people were hurt, one of whom died," the RIA Novosti news agency quoted the official as saying. The wounded, four of whom were in a serious condition, were getting medical treatment, the official said.



The Interfax news agency reported that the tourists were local residents who were visiting a viewing platform at the fortress in Derbent when an unidentified gunman opened fire from a nearby forest. The visitors included two border guards, one of whom was killed in the attack, Interfax reported.

A search for the attacker is now underway. Local police declined to comment to Reuters.



Gun and bomb attacks are common in Dagestan, a mostly-Muslim internal republic in Russia's troubled North Caucasus region, where Moscow has been fighting insurgents for years. However, attacks targeting tourists in the region are unusual.