MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -17-08-09-
At least 19 people were killed in a suicide bombing Monday morning outside a police headquarters in Nazran in the Russian republic of Ingushetia, Russian officials said.
People stand near a crater caused by the blast in Nazran.
There were conflicting reports about the death toll. The Investigation Committee of the Russian Prosecutor's Office here told CNN that 19 people were killed and about 60 people, including 10 children, have sustained various injuries as a result of the suicide bombing.
But the duty officer at the Ingushetia branch of the Russian ministry for Emergency Situations had higher numbers.
"According to our information, 20 were killed and 118 were hurt, 65 of whom were hospitalized, others managed without doctor's assistance", he said.
Both sources however admitted those numbers might not be final because fire brigades and rescue workers are still cleaning up the debris and extinguishing pockets of fire at the exploded building.
"The fire virtually destroyed the building. There may still be people in the debris," an emergencies ministry spokesman told RIA Novosti.
"At about 9 a.m. local (1 a.m. ET) a suicide bomber driving a truck stuffed with explosives rammed into the gate of the police station," Kaloi Akhilgov, a spokesman for Ingushetia's president, told CNN.
"It was a powerful explosion. Windows and balconies were broken in several residential buildings around the police station, injuring many people."
Ingushetia's president called the attack an attempt by Islamist rebels to undermine stability in the republic.
"There is no doubt that militants did that to boost their significance. It was an attempt to undermine stability and to sow panic," said President Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, who ordered tightened security around local government buildings and declared a three-day mourning period for blast victims.
In Moscow, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev to take steps to protect police in Ingushetia, the Kremlin press office reported. He also offered condolences to the families of the bombing victims.
Yevkurov is being treated at a rehabilitation center near Moscow following an assassination attempt in June. He suffered a severe brain concussion, fractured ribs and a ruptured liver.
An Islamist suicide bomber rammed into his motorcade in Ingushetia. His driver and bodyguard were killed.
Ingushetia is a small Russian republic bordering Chechnya in the North Caucasus, just north of Georgia.
An impoverished province of mostly Muslims, Ingushetiya has suffered for almost a decade from overflowing unrest in neighboring Chechnya.
It is battling a low-level insurgency with Islamist rebels who launch frequent attacks on Russian servicemen and law enforcement officials.
In response, Russia has launched a counterinsurgency campaign that has been criticized by human rights group for abuses such as arbitrary detentions and extra-judicial executions.
