Moscow - Four law enforcement soldiers were found shot dead in the Russian Caucasus near the border with Chechnya, Ingushetia's Interior Ministry said Wednesday.

A spokesman said the members of Russia's special forces had been ambushed on the highway by unknown persons.

"As a result of shooting, all four military men who were in a vehicle died on the spot," - the spokesman was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying. An investigation was under way.

Earlier in the day, Russia's FSB secret services said they had killed 10 rebel gunmen in an early morning shootout in the neighbouring Caucasus republic of Dagestan.

One security agent died and another was wounded in the police assault, Dagestan's Interior Ministry said.

The two republics have seen a spike in violence in recent years even as conditions become calmer in neighboring Chechnya, which fought three wars with Moscow in the 1990s.

Police have regularly staged crackdowns on Islamist militants and rebel groups in the region. (dpa)