ROSTOV-ON-DON, March 5 (RIA Novosti) - Six people died and two others were injured when an artillery shell exploded near Nazran, the capital of Russia's North Caucasus Republic of Ingushetia, an interior ministry source said on Thursday.

One of the dead has been identified as Nazran's deputy police chief, Alexander Gorelkin.

"Officers of the republic's law enforcement agencies discovered an artillery shell, planted on the roadside between the villages of Surkhakhi and Ekazhevo at approximately 10:30 a.m. Moscow time [07:30 GMT]. At approximately 13.30 p.m. Moscow time an explosion occurred," the source said.

Investigators have yet to establish whether the shell exploded on his own or it was detonated by another explosive device.