Policeman killed in Dagestan bombing claimed by IS

Moscow / AFP

Russia launched an investigation on Wednesday after a police officer was killed and two were injured in a bomb attack in the volatile Dagestan region that was claimed by the IS group.
Two explosive devices were detonated on a main road near the city of Kaspiysk late Tuesday as two police vehicles passed, Russian authorities said.
The Aamaq news agency, which is affiliated with IS, claimed on Wednesday that fighters from the group were behind the attack. Dagestan’s investigative committee said it had opened a criminal probe into the blast. Attacks against police are not uncommon in the North Caucasus region, which faces a simmering Islamist insurgency.
In February, two police officers died and two were injured after attackers detonated a car bomb at a checkpoint. Around a dozen civilians were also injured.
The IS group also claimed a deadly shooting in December near the ancient citadel of Derbent, southern Dagestan.
Rebels from Dagestan, which lies immediately east of Chechnya, are known to have travelled to join the IS group.