Russia: Explosions continue before Sochi Winter Olympics

Five civilians and two police officers were injured in an attack on a restaurant in the Russian Republic of Dagestan as the Winter Olympics in Sochi approached, raising alarm about the security situation in Russia.

The first explosion occurred when a grenade fired from a rocket-propelled grenade exploded on the second floor of the restaurant, Russia’s ITAR-TASS news agency reported, citing the Dagestan Interior Ministry. Later, when security forces arrived at the scene, a nearby car exploded, injuring two police officers.

Russian police check passersby on Red Square in Moscow on December 31, 2013. (Source: AFP/VNA)

The Dagestan Interior Ministry said the two explosions could have been the result of a dispute between local criminal groups or a hooligan act. Earlier, the leader of the neighboring Chechen republic of Dagestan announced that Doku Umarov, the rebel leader who threatened to attack the Sochi Olympics, was dead.

The two explosions occurred in the republic of Dagestan, located in the restive North Caucasus region, not far east of the city of Sochi, where the Winter Olympics are about to take place.

Extremists here are believed to be linked to two suicide bombings in December 2013 in the city of Volgograd that killed 34 people, raising security concerns ahead of the Sochi Winter Olympics.

However, Russian President Vladimir Putin later pledged to ensure security for the Olympics taking place next month./.

According to VNA