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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Another car bombing in Dagestan, Shariat claims responsibility |
| 2005-04-20 |
| A car exploded Tuesday in the troubled southern Russian region of Dagestan, killing two people in what investigators believe was a botched attempt to kill a local prosecutor. The blast occurred in the regional capital, Makhachkala, around 6 a.m., killing one of the occupants instantly, an unidentified official at the regional branch of the Interior Ministry said. The second was hospitalized in a critical condition and died shortly afterward, Health Ministry spokesman Abdul Musayev said. Russian television pictures showed the charred ruins of the car. The explosion had a force equivalent to about a pound of TNT, according to the Interior Ministry official. Dagestan has been hit recently by a series of bombings on law enforcement authorities. A suspect detained in a clash last month was carrying a detailed hit list of high-ranking police officers, including their home addresses and license plate numbers, authorities said. Prosecutor Makhmud Isayev said the two men appeared to have detonated the bomb on Tuesday by accident. "The criminals 
blew themselves up," Isayev said. "Judging by the recent bombings, there appears to be a gang carrying out these attacks." The men were preparing an attack in the neighborhood where a local prosecutor lives, the Interfax news agency reported. The two have been identified as residents of Dagestan and are suspected of a number of crimes, Interfax said. A little-known radical Islamic group claimed responsibility Sunday for a bomb attack that started a fire and injured six people at a prosecutor's office in Makhachkala two days before. The group "Shariat" said in a statement posted on a Web site linked to Chechen separatist rebels that the Friday bombings were intended to halt police operations against what the group said were the "lawful rulers of Dagestan." The group also warned there would be more attacks. The claim could not be immediately verified. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |