MOSCOW, August 12 (IslamOnline.net) - The former head of the Union of Russian Muslims, Nadirshakh Khachilayev, was assassinated Monday night, August 11, in the capital of Dagestan, Makhachkala, north of the Caucasus.

Quoting eyewitnesses, the Russian NTV television network said that two masked assailants opened fire on Khachilayev's car near his house in northern Makhachkala.

They said Khachilayev, who had served as a deputy in the Duma, Russia's lower house, was shot in his heart and arm, adding that his bodyguard and driver had also been wounded in the attack.

The ITAR-TASS news agency, however, said that a Russian policeman was killed in the attack.

Isa Koustouiv, a Russian Federation Council senator, told NTV that Makhachkala police have so far questioned 30 people who were at the shooting scene, noting that police found the car used in the attack.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, the speaker of the Duma (the Russian parliament), the head of Russian Muftis have offered their condolences for Khachilayev's family, Interfax news agency said.

Russian sources linked the assassination to Khachilayev's political activity, pointing out that a senior official with the Dagestani government threatened the Muslim leader he would be killed if he ran for the December 2003 parliamentary elections.

Khachilayev's family, however, accused the Russian intelligence service (SVR) of being behind the assassination.

He was born in southern Dagestan on July 10, 1959 and served in the army of the former Soviet Union.

In 1995, Khachilayev was elected as head of the Group and Freedom non-governmental organization and the head of Russia's Muslims union until 2001.

He played a vital role in reviving the dormant peace process in Chechnya and was elected to the Duma in 1996.

The Russian prosecution accused him of allegedly taking part in the Chechen attack on Dagestan's administration office building in 1999.