MOSCOW, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Russian forces killed six gunmen on Sunday in shootout in the increasingly violent southern republic of Ingushetia, a law enforcement source told Interfax news agency.

The shootout broke out after police stopped the six men as they travelled in two cars through a village outside Ingushetia's main town of Nazran, the source said.

All six gunmen died and at least two policemen were injured, the source said.

Analysts say violence in Ingushetia could destabilise Russia's north Caucasus, a mainly Muslim region which includes Chechnya where federal forces have fought rebels in two wars since 1994.

Since 2007 shootouts, bomb attacks and murders strike nearly everyday in Ingushetia. Russian media also reported on Sunday that gunmen had shot at the house of Ingushetia's deputy parliamentary speaker. Nobody was hurt in the attack.

Last week one of Ingushetia's leading opposition leaders was shot while in police custody. Police say he was killed when he lunged for a weapon, human rights groups say this is untrue. The United States has called for an investigation. (Writing by James Kilner)

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