Two powerful blasts rocked the Dagestani capital of Makhachkala on Thursday evening, killing five people and injuring 17, a law enforcement source in the city told RIA Novosti, citing the latest information.
The first blast, apparently a suicide car bomber, detonated near a police field post on the outskirts of the city at about 10:10 p.m. local time. The second explosion occurred nearby 10 minutes later, when a vehicle with emergency responders had arrived at the scene.
The explosions could be heard throughout the city, located in Russia's volatile North Caucasus region.
The five dead include three Interior Ministry police and two firefighters, the law enforcement source said. There were also two firefighters among the 17 injured, he said.
A staffer at the hospital in Makhachkala where the casualties are being taken could not say how many people were being treated. "They are still coming in. It's difficult right now to say how many there are," he said.
