(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - The murder of Muslim cleric Sirazhutdin Israfilov in Dagestan was most likely connected with his activities, the Russian Investigative Committee informed Interfax.

 "The main theory of the murder is Israfilov's professional activities and his active resistance to the extremist trend in Islam as the head of the Islamic University's branch in Derbent," the Investigative Committee said.

 Two unidentified gunmen fired several shots at Israfilov after asking him to come out of a house in the village of Khurik in Dagestan's Tabasaran district at 4:40 p.m. on Thursday. The 56 year-old man died on the spot. The gunmen fled, it said.

 A criminal probe was launched on counts of murder committed by an organized group and illegal possession of weapons.

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