Top judge in Russia's volatile Ingushetia shot dead

NAZRAN, Russia (Reuters) - Gunmen firing automatic weapons shot dead a top judge Wednesday in Russia's republic of Ingushetia just 18 months after her predecessor was killed.

As security in Ingushetia's neighboring republic of Chechnya has improved, instability has worsened elsewhere in the mainly Muslim North Caucasus region and attacks against the authorities by Islamic insurgents have increased.

Aza Gazgireyeva, deputy chairwoman of the supreme court of Ingushetia, died in hospital after the minibus in which she was traveling was attacked in Ingushetia's largest town of Nazran Wednesday morning.

Gazgireyeva was appointed to her position after the previous office-holder was shot dead a year and a half ago.

The gunmen opened fire from a car on the court-owned minibus carrying Gazgireyeva and also injuring six other passengers before driving away, a source in the local Interior Ministry told Reuters.

"This assault was connected with her professional activities. The criminals are in hiding but a search operation is being conducted to catch them," the source said.

"This happened in the center of town. Gazgireyeva died in hospital and six others were injured, including three women and a one-year-old child."

Violence by insurgents against the authorities has risen in Ingushetia and Dagestan, where poverty and government crackdowns have provided a fertile recruiting ground for militants.

A sniper killed Dagestan's interior minister last Friday at a wedding celebration and gunmen shot dead two people Tuesday -- hours after President Dmitry Medvedev had sought to rally officials there in their fight against Islamic insurgents.

Medvedev described the assassination of the interior minister as a "cynical challenge to the authorities" and ordered officials to track down the killers.

Analysts say Moscow's fragile control over the North Caucasus region could be undermined as the sharp economic downturn hits an already poor area.

(Writing by Conor Sweeney; Editing by Alison Williams)