According to preliminary information, Kazbek Pagiyev, who was the mayor of Vladikavkaz for five years until 2007, was killed when unidentified gunmen opened fire on the car he was riding in.
Pagiyev's murder comes shortly after the assassination last month of his successor as mayor of Vladikavkaz, Vitaly Karayev.
Karayev is believed to have been killed by a sniper as he got into his car after leaving his home to go to work on November 26. Although he was rushed to hospital by his bodyguards, a health official later said he had died from a bullet wound to the heart.
On November 27, an Islamist group claimed responsibility for the mayor's murder on a website believed to have links to Chechen militants.
"Vitaly Karayev, this enemy of Allah, was eliminated near his home while on his way to city hall," the Kataib al-Khoul group said in a statement posted on the kavkazcenter site.
So far no one has claimed the responsibility for the murder of Pagiyev and the police are conducting an investigation.
