Ingush militants claimed responsibility Thursday for a suicide car bombing at the central market of the North Ossetian capital, Vladikavkaz, that killed 17 and injured dozens last week.
A statement posted on the rebel Hunafa web site said the Sept. 16 attack was staged by the Riyadu-s-Sakhalin battalion of the suicide bombers, established by the late Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev in 2001.
But a police source dismissed the claim, saying the militants were trying to boost their clout by taking credit for the blast, Interfax reported.
(MT)