The top cleric in Tatarstan, a Muslim-majority republic in central Russia, was injured in a car blast today and his deputy was shot dead when leaving his house at about the same time, the Interior Ministry said.

Ildus Khazrat Faizov was at the wheel of his car in the regional capital of Kazan at the time of the explosion at 10:15 a.m., the ministry’s branch in Tatarstan said on its website. Valiulla Yakupov was killed at about 10 a.m. when an unknown assailant fired several shots, Russia’s Investigative Committee said in a separate statement.

Security was tightened around all important religious sites and officials in the republic, according to the Interior Ministry.

To contact the reporter on this story: Paul Abelsky in Moscow at pabelsky@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Balazs Penz at bpenz@bloomberg.net