Chechen gunmen seriously wounded the press secretary of Mr Akhmad Kadyrov, the chief of the pro-Russian administration in Chechnya, during a robbery attempt, ITAR-TASS has reported, quoting local officials.
The masked gunmen broke into Mr Lechi Yakhyayev's house in the village of Gekhi last night and shot him three times after demanding his money and valuables, the report said, quoting local security council secretary Mr Rudnik Dudayev.
Mr Yakhyayev was rushed to hospital in the central town of Urus Martan, where he underwent a shoulder operation.
Mr Kadyrov, who himself has survived a series of Chechen rebel assassination attempts, was in Moscow at the time of the attack.
The separatist guerrillas have vowed to kill ethnic Chechens who co-operate with the pro-Moscow government set up in Chechnya shortly after Russian troops stormed into the republic in October 1999.
AFP