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At least 12 people have been killed and 80 others wounded after a car exploded in a market in Vladikavkaz, a major city in Russia's North Caucasus region.
A regional official said it appeared the blast was carried out by a bomber and Russia said it was launching an investigation into what it described as an "act of terror".
"According to the information I have ... the blast in Vladikavkaz has been organized by a suicide bomber who drove up to the entrance of the market in a Volga 3102 car," Taimuraz Mamsurov, the head of the region, was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying.
Vladikavkaz is the capital of the Russian republic of North Ossetia, which lies in the restive North Caucasus region.
Fears of second threat
The Itar-Tass news agency said the power of the blast shattered windows of nearby buildings, and raised fears of a second explosion.
"A second threat is not ruled out and at the current moment the perimeter of the market and nearby roads is being encircled," a local interior ministry spokesman told the Itar-Tass news agency.
It said the explosion went off at the entrance to the market, which is usually crowded as it is where employers recruit potential employees.
The market and its surrounding blocks has been the target of several bomb attacks over the past decade or so, in which scores of people have died.
The republic does suffer from ethnic tensions and has seen a rise in unrest in recent months.
In November 2008, the mayor of the city was killed when an assassin shot him in the chest near his home.
PHOTO CAPTION
Russian commandos at the border of South Ossetia and Ingushetia
Al-Jazeera
