Three dead in Russia's Ingushetia shootout - media

MOSCOW, Sep 9 (Reuters) Two rebels and one Russian soldier died today in a shootout in Ingushetia, a republic in south Russia which has seen a sharp increase in violence over the last few months, Russian media reported.

News agencies also reported that a bomb exploded a few hundred metres from a police station in Nalchik, the capital of Kabardino-Balkaria another republic in Russia's north Caucasus, although nobody was hurt.

Russian soldiers and rebels have fought two wars since 1994 in Chechnya but the focus of violence in the north Caucasus region over the past few months has been Ingushetia, its neighbour.

Today two gunmen attacked a Russian base killing one soldier and injuring another, news agencies said. The gunmen died trying to escape.

REUTERS PD PM1620