MMoscow  - Five Russian soldiers were killed and six injured in an ambush in the Cacausus republic of Dagestan on Tuesday, Russian news agencies reported.

A three-vehicle column of Interior Ministry troops was attacked about 40 kilometres from the republic's capital of Makhachkala, agencies quoted an unnamed law-enforcement official as saying.

The attacks come after one of the most serious assaults on government troops by insurgents over the weekend in the neighbouing republic of Ingushetia.

Three soldiers died according to official figures, but the regional opposition website cited a law enforcement officer saying as many as 40 had been killed. (dpa)