Landmine kills 4 Russian soldiers in Caucasus

MOSCOW, Sep 6 (Reuters) A landmine killed four Russian soldiers travelling in an armoured personnel carrier through North Ossetia in Russia's Caucasus region today, Interfax news agency reported.

North Ossetia is predominantly Russian Orthodox and pro-Kremlin but borders Muslim Chechnya where separatist rebels have been fighting for a decade against Russia.

Interfax news agency quoted a spokesman for the Interior Ministry forces, to which the dead servicemen belonged, as saying that another four were injured.

''An explosive device, most likely an artillery shell, has been planted under the asphalt beforehand,'' he said.

The spokesman did not say whether the convoy had been specifically targeted.

There have been few attacks on Russian forces in North Ossetia, although last month Russian intelligence officials said Chechen separatists planned to strike more targets in neighbouring regions.

In 2004 rebels captured a school in Beslan, North Ossetia, with hundreds of hostages. Over 330 people -- half of them children -- died when security forces stormed the building.

REUTERS SSC BS1639