5 killed in car explosion near Russian market

Officials say a car exploded near the central market of a major city in Russia's restive North Caucasus region, killing at least five people and wounding 20.

Officials say a car exploded near the central market of a major city in Russia's restive North Caucasus region, killing at least five people and wounding 20.

HT Image

There was no immediate information on whether the car that exploded in Vladikavkaz had been rigged with explosives or if the blast was due to other causes.

The market and its surrounding blocks has been the target of several bomb attacks over the past dozen years, in which scores of people have died.

Interior Ministry spokesman Nikolai Morozov says five people died and at least 20 were wounded. Vladikavkaz is the capital of the Russian republic of North Ossetia.

It is less plagued by violence than some other republics in the region such as Chechnya and Dagestan, North Ossetia suffers ethnic tensions.