Car bomb kills 8 in Russia's North Caucasus

2011-09-29 11:00:27 GMT+7 (ICT)

DAGESTAN, RUSSIA (BNO NEWS) -- At least eight people were killed on Wednesday afternoon when a car bomb exploded in Russia's North Caucasus republic of Dagestan, officials said on Thursday.

The explosion happened on Wednesday afternoon on the Kupa-Gunib highway in the village of Khajalmakhi when several police officers were checking out a suspicious vehicle. A group of civilians was near the vehicle when it exploded.

According to the Russian Investigative Committee, one policeman and seven civilians were killed while six police officers were injured, some of them seriously. Among those killed was an 11-year-old girl.

It was not immediately known who was behind the car bombing but Dagestan has been hit by a series of attacks in recent weeks. Last Thursday, three people were killed and scores of others were injured during a series of attacks in the republic.

The first attack happened at around 00.20 a.m. local time when a car bomb exploded on a residential street in Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan, several hundred meters (feet) from the republic's Interior Ministry building. It was a fairly small explosion, causing no injuries.

As emergency services rushed to the scene of the blast, about 15 minutes later, a far more powerful car bomb exploded about 40 meters (130 feet) from the scene of the first explosion. One police officer was killed in the second attack, which was apparently intended to target emergency services responding to the first blast. Among the 61 injured, some of whom were treated at the scene, were 44 police officers.

Several hours after the twin car bombing, militants armed with machine guns opened fire at a vehicle transporting Buinaksk district police chief Akhmadnabi Adilkhanov. Although the chief was not injured, two of his guards were killed.

These attacks came just one day after another explosion in Makhachkala which killed three people when a car containing an explosive device, a grenade, and handguns exploded on a street. It is believed the victims were the militants themselves.

Militants in the region continue to carry out attacks against security forces, police, and civilians, more than a decade after a separatist war ended in Chechnya. The volatile region of Dagestan neighbors Chechnya where around 50 percent of all militant attacks in Russia last year took place.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-09-29

Oh my. This isn't very good. Russia is very respectful of the self determination of the world's regions. This must be a misunderstanding. Russia is supportive of the Palestinian Arab quest for UN recognized state status. As such, it would welcome and embrace the goals of independence of the muslim population in the North Caucasus. Why would anyone want to attack the Russians now? It is a friend of oppressed people everywhere.

I am glad to see I am not the only one who forgot to take my anti-sarcasm medication today.