Russia bomb victims rise to 17

A suicide car bomber killed at least 17 people and injured more than 100 yesterday afternoon at a central market in the city of Vladikavkaz in the Caucasus region of North Ossetia.

Of the worst injured, 11 were airlifted to Moscow and another four critically wounded remained in the city.

Officials warned the death toll was likely to go up as many of the injured, including a three-year old boy, were in critical condition. The boy’s 18-month old brother died of his injuries yesterday.

Authorities said the blast was triggered by a suicide bomber who drove up to a busy market in an explosives-packed car and whose headless body was later discovered.

The attack in the city, which is mainly of Christian religion, was the latest strike to hit the Russian Caucasus, plagued by an Islamic insurgency that has claimed several lives in the past months.

It came as Russia’s Muslim regions were preparing to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, a Muslim holiday that marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.