A female suicide bomber killed a leading Muslim scholar and at least five other people during an attack in the Dagestan region in Russia's North Caucasus.

Dagestan's interior ministry says the woman, posing as a pilgrim, walked into the home of Said Atsayev and detonated a suicide belt, killing him along with five followers.

Atsayev, a leader of the Sufi sect, was considered one of the leading spiritual leaders in the region and often defended moderate Islam against more radical forms.

Elsewhere in Dagestan, a Russian border guard killed at least seven servicemen in a shooting spree at a border post Tuesday. The motivation for the attack is unknown.