Russian officials say a car bomb attack has killed eight people, including a police officer, in the North Causasus region of Dagestan.

Authorities say Wednesday's explosion occurred in a suspicous vehicle that police were inspecting near Khadzhalmakhi.

The blast killed one police officer and injured six others. The other people killed included the occupants of a passing car and an 11 year old girl.

The attack comes one week after three car bombings killed six people and gunmen killed four others in the volatile region.

There have been no claims for responsibility for the attacks, but Islamist rebels have been linked to similar attacks in the past.

Dagestan is a predominantly Muslim region in southern Russia, plagued by violence linked to an Islamist insurgency. Separatists in neighboring Chechnya fought two major wars against the Russian government. Although the major fighting ended about a decade ago, attacks on government targets continue almost daily.