Suicide bombers kill 12 in Russian province

Two suspected suicide bombings in the southern Russian province of Dagestan have killed at least 12 people today, including nine police officers, officials said.

The blasts occurred in the city of Kizlyar, near Dagestan’s border with Chechnya.

Interior minister Rashid Nurgaliyev said one suicide bomber detonated explosives when police tried to stop his car.

Then, as investigators and residents gathered at the scene of the blast, a second bomber wearing a police uniform approached and set off his explosives, killing the town’s police chief among others.

The incident comes two days after a dual suicide bombing tore through the Moscow subway system, killing 39 people.

Rebels from the North Caucasus, which includes Dagestan and Chechnya, were blamed for masterminding the Moscow attacks.