Slain Russian officer's wife dies

Retired FSB General Anatoly Trofimov and his wife were ambushed near their north Moscow home as they were travelling in a sports utility vehicle.

An unidentified masked gunman ran up to the jeep and opened fire, reports say.

There is speculation that it was a business-related contract killing. He was one of the most senior FSB officers to be shot dead in recent years.

Trofimov's daughter, who was also in the car, was reportedly unharmed.

Yeltsin-era duties

Trofimov was deputy director of the Federal Security Service (FSB) and head of the service for the Moscow region until 1997, when he was sacked by former Russian President Boris Yeltsin.

According to Russia's Kommersant newspaper, he had led the investigation into an alleged slush fund run by Yeltsin election campaign workers.

Security officials say Trofimov, who died aged 65, had recently been deputy director of a company involved in security work.

A former top FSB officer, Alexander Litvinenko, was quoted as saying the killing must have been political.

"In today's Russia, not one businessman under any circumstances would raise their hand against a general of the FSB," said Mr Litvinenko, quoted by the Associated Press.

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