Armed attackers stormed into a village near Chechnya early Monday, killing at least nine Russian border guards and taking four hostages as they fled, a local official said. A regional interior ministry spokesman in the Russian region of Dagestan on the Caspian Sea said heavily-armed Chechens, numbering up to 60, burst into the mountain village of Shauri about 60 miles from the border with Georgia. "Nine border guards were killed on the spot, and the commander's head was chopped off. Two of the victims were from Dagestan and the rest were conscripts," said Basyr Magomedov, the head of the Tsutinsky region, which includes Shauri. "They took four people hostage -- two workers from a local hospital and two villagers... It is possible that as they left they took more hostages," he said. He said it was unclear whether the group was still in Dagestan or had gone back into Chechnya with their hostages. Chechen fighters have fought Moscow for more than nine years, and briefly gained independence in 1996 when they managed to fight the Russian army to a stand-still. The conflict has frequently spilled over into neighboring regions -- particularly in recent months. Ten days ago, more than 40 people died in a bomb attack on a commuter train more than 70 miles outside Chechnya. Chechen incursions into western Dagestan in 1999 were partly responsible for pushing President Vladimir Putin into sending Russian troops back into Chechnya, triggering the current campaign in which soldiers and police die almost daily. More than 30 ethnic groups live in Dagestan, including a substantial number of ethnic Chechens. Chechens said that Monday's fighters were local Dagestanis who have been fighting alongside the Chechens. "Eleven occupiers were killed and nine aggressors were injured," said a report sourced to the "Dagestan brigade of the Mujahideen on www.kavkazcenter.com. "The Mujahideen attacked the occupiers, ambushing them on their route of advance... They will continue to be based on the territory of Dagestan and carry out further planned attacks against Russian occupying forces." **PHOTO CAPTION*** Pro-Russian Chechen soldiers prepare an anti-tank grenade. (AFP/File/Michael Evstfiev)