Eleven dead in explosions in Russia

MOSCOW - At least 11 people were dead and many more wounded after a series of suicide bombings Wednesday in Russia\’s North Caucasus region, the Interfax news agency said citing Russia\’s interior ministry.

The explosions in Kizlyar came two days after twin suicide bomb attacks killed 39 people in Moscow\’s subway system, attacks which Russia\’s FSB intelligence service blamed on Northern Caucasian terrorist groups.

The interior ministry ordered sharp security controls at all public buildings in the wake of Wednesday\’s blasts. Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev promised a \”harsh answer\” to those who carried out the attacks.

The first blast was carried out by a suicide bomber dressed as a policeman in the city of Kizlyar in the semi-autonomous Russian republic of Dagestan near local offices of the FSB and the interior ministry.

The blast location was also near a school, reported radio broadcaster Echo Moskvy. However no children were present at the time.

Shortly afterward, a second suicide bomber detonated himself elsewhere in Kizlyar after police stopped his car for a traffic check. Two police officers and a passenger died in that blast.

After a crowd gathered at the scene of the crime, another suicide bomber dressed as a policeman detonated himself.

Most of the fatalities in the two attacks were police officers. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev directed Dagestan officials to provide aid to the families of victims.

It was unclear if Wednesday\’s Dagestan bombings were linked to the Monday bombings in Moscow.

Dagestan, and the wider Northern Caucasus region, is frequently a centre of fighting between Russian authorities and Islamist rebels. In 2009 alone more than 1,000 security personnel and rebels died in confrontations.

The Kremlin has stationed 23,000 troops in the region in an attempt to bring it under control.