Created: 01.07.2005 15:26 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 16:03 MSK, 1 minute ago
MosNews
A bomb blast has hit a truck carrying military servicemen in Makhachkala, the capital of the Russian internal republic of Dagestan, bordering Chechnya, the Interfax news agency reported on Friday.
The agency quoted a medic in the regional center for emergencies as saying that the attack took place at about 14-20 Moscow time at a crossroads in the city. The truck was taking the servicemen to a local bathhouse.
The NTV television channel stated that the blast killed 10 servicemen and wounded over 20. Windows were shattered in nearby houses. Rescuers and investigators are working at the scene of the attack.
The blast follows a string of terrorist attacks that have hit Dagestan over the past week.
Two blasts last Saturday wounded six police officers in the regional capital, Makhachkala, and one derailed a cargo train, wounding two men. A fourth bomb went off outside a school in the town of Khasavyurt on the same day.
Another explosion hit a police vehicle Sunday, wounding a police officer.
On Tuesday unidentified gunmen killed Magomed-Zagid Varisov, a writer and commentator whose views often appeared in the local and national press. Varisov was killed outside his home in Makhachkala.
Dagestan borders the volatile republic of Chechnya and has been both a source of fighters in the long-simmering war there and an area where Chechens have sought refuge.
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