An official says an explosion has wounded 17 police officers in Russia's volatile southern province of Dagestan, according to AP. Interior Ministry spokesman Vyacheslav Gasanov said Thursday the blast tore through a police bus late Wednesday near the eastern town of Kaspiisk. He said one of the officers was critically wounded. The blast took place hours after police and federal forces killed 15 suspected Islamic militants in Dagestan. Dagestan and surrounding provinces have been plagued by attacks carried out by Islamic militants who have spread across the region after two separatist wars in neighboring Chechnya. Human rights activists accuse police of fueling the unrest with alleged abuses against civilians under the pretext of fighting extremism.
