ROSTOV-ON-DON, February 24 (RIA Novosti) - A senior aide to Ingushetia's chief prosecutor was killed and his wife injured when a gunman opened fire on his car on Tuesday morning, a spokesman for the southern Russian republic's investigative body said.

"At about 8:25 a.m. Moscow time (05:25 GMT) in Nazran, an unidentified gunman fired at a car carrying a senior aide to the republic's chief prosecutor, Akhmed Torshkhoyev, 54, and his wife," the official said.

He said Torshkhoyev later died of his injuries in hospital, and his wife was in intensive care.

Ingushetia has seen a rise in violence of late, including bombings and other attacks on police and officials, which have been linked to separatists in neighboring Chechnya and local criminal gangs.