GROZNY: Russian authorities say seven people have been killed in attacks and gunbattles in the North Caucasus region, most of them alleged militants.

Officials say one of the dead Saturday was the second suicide bomber to strike the region in less than 24 hours. Chechnya's Interior Minister said three police were wounded when the attacker blew himself up in the provincial capital, Grozny. An alleged militant was killed in a separate incident in Chechnya.

The Interior Ministry in neighboring Dagestan said security forces killed three alleged militants and the wife of one of the men.

In Ingushetia, which also borders Chechnya, authorities said gunmen shot and killed a police investigator outside his home.

The North Caucasus has experienced a surge of violence recently.