Counter-terrorism operations have been launched in three regions of Russia's North Caucasus republic of Dagestan following a deadly car bombing on Monday, the Interfax news agency reported, citing the press service of the republic's operation headquarters.
Anti-terrorism raids are being carried out in Dagestan's Hivsky, Tabasaransky and Suleiman-Stalsky regions, the press service of the National Anti-Terrorism Committee's headquarters said, Interfax reported.
On Wednesday, two fighters have been killed after they opened fire on police during a raid, the news agency reported.
A car bomb exploded near a traffic police post in Dagestan's Derbent region on Monday morning, killing two policemen and injuring another 17 people, Interfax reported.
The explosion was the deadliest attack in the southern republic since 2013, Reuters reported.
The blast was caused by a suicide bomber, a 23-year-old former student of an Astrakhan university, Interfax reported, citing an unidentified source in Dagestan's law enforcement agencies. Earlier, the news agency had reported that the organizer of the attack shared the ideology of Islamic State — a terrorist group banned in Russia.
Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack, Reuters reported.
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