11 killed in minibus blast in Russia's North Caucasus

2008-11-06 20:36:17  

    MOSCOW, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) --

Eleven people were killed Thursday in a minibus explosion in southern Russia, local news agencies reported.

    The death toll from the blast, which occurred near a marketplace in Vladikavkaz, the capital of North Ossetia, has risen to 11, RIA Novosti reported, citing a law-enforcement source.

    "Seven people died immediately, some died on the way to hospital, and some passed away in hospital," the source said.

    The explosive device is believed to have been detonated by a female suicide bomber. A criminal case has been opened over the blast for murder and terrorism.

    In a separate report of Interfax, a government official said 10 people were killed and 39 others injured in the blast.

    "The bodies of ten victims, six women and four men, are in the forensic laboratory in Vladikavkaz," Taimuraz Revazov, the republic's Deputy Health Minister, was quoted by Interfax as saying.

    Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has ordered the Federal Security Service and the Investigation Committee of the Prosecutor General's Office to conduct a thorough probe into the incident, the Kremlin press service said.

    The explosion was the deadliest in years in the North Caucasus region, which borders turbulent Chechnya and Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia.

Terror strikes North Ossetia

 Russia Today, November 7, 2008, 7:01

At least 11 people have been killed and dozens injured in what appears to be a suicide bombing in Russia’s southern city of Vladikavkaz in North Ossetia. Most of the victims of the deadliest attack in the republic for years were students returning from classes. The severed head of a suspected suicide bomber was reportedly found at the scene.
President Medvedev has demanded that the prosecutor's office thoroughly investigate the case.

Police say the blast was a terror attack as traces of explosives were found nearby.

All the victims are reportedly residents of North Ossetia. Five of those killed in the blast have been identified by the North Ossetian Ministry of Internal Affairs as three women and two young men aged 17 and 22. Thirty-nine people who were injured and are now in hospital have also been identified.

Boris Digurov, the head doctor of a hospital in Vladikavkaz, said that two of the injured are in a very bad condition. He added that most of those hit by the blast were young people around 17-18 years old, many of whom were students at nearby universities.

The severed head of a suspected suicide bomber was found at the scene.

The blast reportedly had a force of around 300-500g of TNT equivalent, with a radius estimated at 150 metres.

The explosion is said to have occurred outside the minibus rather than inside, as there was no sign of explosives anywhere in the vehicle.

The North Ossetian authorities have declared that Saturday, November 8, will be a day of mourning. Security has been stepped up in North Ossetia.

The American embassy in Moscow has condemned the violence. U.S. ambassador John Beyrle expressed his condolences to the families of the victims. He added that the U.S. will continue together with Russia to make every effort to destroy any terrorist groups. The U.S. is the only country so far to have reacted to the events.

Vladikavkaz is the capital of North Ossetia. Refugees from South Ossetia fled to the city during the August conflict between Russia and Georgia.

The attack is just one of a number of deadly explosions in the Caucasus region since the end of the military confrontation.

Last month seven peacekeepers were killed in Tskhinval. South Ossetian authorities accused Georgia of organising terrorist acts on it territory.

There were also reports of planned attacks by Georgian radicals in Moscow.