11 people have been killed and up to 87 others injured as two powerful
explosions hit Makhachkala, the capital city of Dagestan in southern
Russia, security services report. The first bomb was detonated by a
suicide car bomber not far from a police checkpoint on the outskirts of
Makhachkala, when the car was stopped for a regular check. The second
bomb, which caused most of the casualties, struck when rescuers arrived
at the scene 20 minutes later. The blast caused a fire but it was soon
extinguished. The combined power of the blasts was equivalent to 60 kg
of TNT, according to officials from the National Antiterrorism
Committee. The incidents are being treated as terror attacks. RT's Sean
Thomas has the details and also RT talks to Doctor Walid Phares, a
counter-terrorism adviser to the US Congress.