At least eight people killed in bomb blast in Dagestan in Russia

At least eight people were killed in a bomb attack in the Russian southern region of Dagestan on Thursday, according to the Russian Federal Security Service. "Police were sent to the scene and a shootout is currently in progress with the attackers," said a local official who was not identified. 

Reuters

An additional four police officers escorting the workers were wounded.

"At around 10:30 (06h30 UT), an explosive device went off as repair workers drove by in a vehicle" to fix a cell phone mast, the investigative committee of Russian prosecutors said in a statement.

The cell phone mast, in the Sergokalinsk district, had been blown up by unidentified attackers the day before.

Other explanations as to what happened in the past have been offered by various Russian news media. The workers may have been lured into an ambush by rebels and blown up by a landmine, Russian NTV television reported.

Dagestan officials and those from other North Caucasus regions are battling to quash an Islamist insurgency that has killed a number of police and civilians.