Originally published on January 18, 2014
A bombing attack on a restaurant in the capital of the Russian republic of Dagestan on Friday night left several people injured.
According to reports, a rocket-propelled grenade was launched into the second floor of the Golden Empire restaurant and hotel on Bogatyreva Street in Makhachkala at around after 8 p.m. Police were called to the scene and not long after their arrival, a bomb inside a car parked near the restaurant was detonated.
No one was killed in the twin blasts, though several were injured. Reports vary on the number; CNN reported at least five, while some Russian publications, including KM Online, said many as 16. Most reports indicate that police officers were also injured in the attack.
It is not yet clear who is responsible for the bombing. A police official told CNN that the attack could be related to a dispute between criminal gangs. Bombings in Dagestan are not uncommon, however. The republic, located in the North Caucasus region, has been a center of Islamist insurgent activity since the 1990s.
On just Wednesday, four militants and three security force members were killed in a shootout in the republic and about two weeks before that, one person died and two were injured in a roadside bombing.
The Olympic Committee has expressed its concern about the violence in the region, as Sochi, the site of this year's Winter Olympics, sits 300 miles east of Dagestan. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that the government will do 'everything possible' to make ensure safety during the games.
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