Police post torn off in Dagestan

An explosion tore through a police post in the southern Russian republic of Dagestan Tuesday, causing deaths and injuries, a spokeswoman for the region's Interior Ministry said.

Spokeswoman Angela Martirosova said the blast took place in Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan, but that she did not have further details, says the AP.

Another anonimous spokesman for the regional Interior Ministry said, the explosion killed two people. According to the information from Interfax reporter at the site one policeman was killed, four other people, one of those is also a policeman, wounded.

Witness say before the explosion two men approached the police post, put a parcel on the staircase and ran away, reports ITAR-TASS.

According to Newsru, a group called "Shariat" claimed responsibility for the explosion.

Twenty-seven people were hospitalized, eleven killed as a result of the terrorist act, which occurred Friday in Dagestan.

Dagestan borders Chechnya, where separatist rebels have been fighting Russian forces since 1999, and violence that some believe is connected with the Chechen insurgency is increasing in the republic.

Photo: NTV