Police say gunmen in a southern Russian province fired at a police car and killed three officers.

The Interior Ministry of Kabardino-Balkaria province says unidentified gunmen riddled the police car with bullets in the village of Baksan.

It said Tuesday that the gunmen made off with the officers’ weapons and ammunition.

Like other North Caucasus provinces, Kabardino-Balkaria is plagued by violence linked to Chechnya. Violence is also tied to an internal power struggle, clan rivalries and tension over the practice of Islam.