Chechen MP is shot dead as he drove to work in attack which was caught in dashcam footage

WARNING - DISTRESSING FOOTAGE: Magomed Askhabov, from south-western Russia's Republic of Chechnya, smashed head-on into a lamp post after being shot by an unknown gun man

Magomed Askhabov, from south-western Russia's Republic of Chechnya, smashed head-on into a lamp post after being shot by an unknown gun man.

Dashcam footage from inside his Toyota Camry shows another vehicle driving alongside Mr Askhabov's to his left.

Gunshots are heard and suddenly the MP's blood spatters across the windscreen.

The car then rams into a lamp post, destroying the windscreen, before it spins over and turns onto its side.

Mr Askhabov, head of the committee on land relations, was on the way to work to the city of Grozny on Friday, when he was shot through the window of the vehicle.

Local police have launched a criminal case for murder connected with the public duties of a person.

They are also looking to prosecute for illicit trafficking in weapons.

The assailant has not yet been identified.

Head of the Chechen republic Ramzan Kadyrov said based on information "obtained from numerous independent sources, as well as the reports of law enforcement agencies," Askhabov's murder was not political.

He also claimed the murder was already 'half-solved', and emphasised that it was not terror related, reports Crime Russia .

It is reported that the investigation is under the personal command of Alexander Bastrykin, 64, head of the investigative committee of the Russian Federation.

The shocking video, which was posted online, has sparked speculation as to who was behind the killing.