7 Hunters Shot Dead in Southern Russia

From the Kyiv Post:

ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia — Russian police say seven hunters and forest rangers have been shot dead in a wooded area in the volatile Caucasus region.

A police official who declined to be named because the investigation is still at an early stage said Saturday's shooting occurred in the province of Kabardino-Balkaria. Police said all victims had two to four gunshot wounds to the head.

In November 2007, the bodies of nine hunters and forest rangers were found in the same stretch of woodland. Police at the time said they had inadvertently strayed into the territory of militant Islamists who take shelter in the forests of the Caucasus and were killed by them.

Like other Caucasus regions near Chechnya, Kabardino-Balkaria has been plagued with insurgent violence in recent years.