Gunmen in the Russian republic of North Ossetia have released all but five of the Ingush bus passengers they were holding hostage.

Local police and Russian interior ministry troops are continuing to negotiate with the kidnappers, who are reported to be villagers angry about the abduction by Ingushetians of a North Ossetian wedding party at the weekend.

Kidnappings are common in the North Caucasus region where tension between North Ossetia and Ingushetia has remained high since a territorial conflict in 1992 forced thousands of Ingush refugees to flee their homes.