Russian Police Officer Killed While Defusing Bomb in Dagestan

Posted January 11th, 2012 at 10:20 am (UTC-5)
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A Russian policeman was killed and at least eight of his colleagues were wounded when a powerful bomb exploded as they were attempting to defuse it in the North Caucasus region of Dagestan.

Russia's Interior Ministry said Wednesday the bomb was found near the village of Komsomolskoye, in the northern part of Dagestan. The ministry says the device included several canisters, one of which exploded as police tried to defuse them.

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.