Probe into Russia reporter death

Russian prosecutors have opened a murder investigation after a journalist for state-run television was found dead in his flat in the capital, Moscow.

The body of Ilyas Shurpayev, a reporter for Channel One, was found with stab wounds and a belt around his neck.

There is no immediate indication of a possible motive for the killing.

Mr Shurpayev, 32, was a native of the mostly Muslim Dagestan province and had worked extensively throughout the violence-ridden North Caucasus region.

A fire was started in the flat Mr Shurpayev was renting in what officials say could have been an attempt to cover up the murder.

Russia is acknowledged to be a dangerous place to be a reporter. Few of the more than a dozen contract-style murders of journalists in recent years have resulted in a conviction.