One man has been killed and 11 injured in shooting at a fortress popular with tourists in Dagestan in southern Russia.

The victims were part of a group of 20 tourists visiting the Naryn-Kala fortress in the city of Derbent when two unknown gunmen opened fire from a nearby forest on Tuesday night.

The dead man has been identified as a 26-year-old border police, as local authorities say they believe the shooting to be a terrorist attack by Islamist insurgents.

The victims were part of a group of 20 tourists visiting the Naryn-Kala fortress in the city of Derbent, Dagestan, and had been standing on a viewing terrace when at least one gunman opened fire

Semen Sporyshev, 26, had been working as a contract soldier at the state border in Dagestan, according to local media.

Today, the head of the Republic of Dagestan has said that he believes militant jihadist rebels to be behind the deadly attack.

'This is most likely a trick by some remaining bandit groups or militants who have survived and seek vengeance for the peace and tranquillity in which Derbent residents live,' Ramazan Abdulatipov told Interfax news agency.

'We celebrated the 2,000th anniversary of Derbent town and this gave the people hope for living in peace. But apparently there are still people who are annoyed by this stability,' he said.

Victim: Russian Semen Sporyshev, 26, had been working as a contract soldier at the state border in Dagestan when he was killed in the shooting on Tuesday night

Unstable: The republic of Dagestan has been the scene of Islamic insurgency since the 1990s

The group was reportedly made up of locals from Derbent and the surrounding Derbentskiy District, and had been standing on a panoramic terrace of the ancient fortress when the gunmen attacked.

Local police are reportedly searching for two men, who fled the scene in a black Lada Priora car, after firing some 70 shots at the tourists.

'As a result of a gun attack 12 people were hurt, one of whom died,' an official in the region's health ministry told RIA Novosti.

The wounded, four of whom were in a serious condition, were getting medical treatment, the official said.

Accusation: Ramazan Abdulatipov, the head of the Republic of Dagestan, has said that he believes militant jihadist rebels to be behind the deadly attack at the Naryn-Kala fortress late on Tuesday night

The Interfax news agency reported that the tourists were local residents who were visiting a viewing platform at the fortress in Derbent when the unidentified gunmen opened fire from a nearby forest.

Gun and bomb attacks are common in Dagestan, a mostly-Muslim internal republic in Russia's troubled North Caucasus region.

Moscow has been fighting Islamist insurgents in Dagestan since the 1990s, however, attacks targeting tourists in the region are unusual.

The republic of Dagestan is Russia's most ethnically diverse republic, with ethnic Russians making up just 3.6 per cent of the total population.