MAKHACHKALA, Russia, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Two policemen were killed and 12 injured on Thursday when gunmen opened fire on a police car in Russia's southern region of Dagestan, a local interior ministry spokesman said.

"The incident occurred in the Buinaksk region (adjacent to the local capital Makhachkala) as the policemen returned from events to preserve order," the spokesman said by telephone.

Police shootouts and attacks by insurgents against Russian forces are frequent in Dagestan, a mainly Muslim region in the south of Russia.

Analysts say the violence is linked to clan rivalries, organised crime and a militant Islamist insurgency that has links to neighbouring Chechnya, scene of a long-running separatist war.

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