Seventeen people have been killed and up to 90 injured as a powerful car bomb attack hit the central market in the city of Vladikavkaz, the capital of the republic of North Ossetia-Alania.

The youngest victim was only 18 months old. The boy died in hospital.

Eight children were among those taken to a local hospital.

There may be more victims as “in the first minutes after the blast, injured were being carried away by their friends and relatives who transported them to hospitals in taxis,” the republic’s deputy emergency minister Kazbek Bekmurzov told Itar-Tass new agency.

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Armed Basque separatist group Eta says it will not “carry out armed actions” in its campaign for independence.

In a video obtained exclusively by the BBC, the group said it took the decision several months ago “to put in motion a democratic process”.

The Spanish government has not responded. In the past it has said it will only negotiate with Eta if it renounces violence and disarms.

Eta’s violent campaign has led to more than 820 deaths over the past 40 years.

It has called two ceasefires in the past, but abandoned them both.

Under pressure

It is unclear whether Eta is declaring a permanent or temporary ceasefire.

The News:
http://www.bbc.co.uk … orld-europe-11191395

Five people were killed and over 30 injured in Sunday’s attack on a military unit in the southern Russian republic of Dagestan, a law enforcement source reported.

A Zhiguli car packed with explosives and driven by a suicide bomber detonated near the town of Buinaksk after ramming the gates of the military unit, making part of the 136th motorized rifle brigade, early on Sunday. The unit’s guard blocked the car, preventing a larger death toll.

Reports of the number of injured by different sources varied from 33 to 39. Many of those injured were in serious condition.

The Defense Ministry said three people were killed.

A law enforcement source said the power of the explosive device was equivalent to up to 100 kg of TNT.

A second explosion rocked the town as investigators were heading to the site. The second bomb exploded on the way of a police car after the car passed the place where the bomb was planted, so no one was killed or injured.

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http://en.rian.ru/ru … 00905/160471726.html

Azerbaijan and Armenia are blaming each other for the latest clash over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which reportedly killed five soldiers on Tuesday.

Azerbaijan’s Defence Ministry says the Armenians tried to attack Azeri forces. The government in Yerevan denies that Armenia was at fault.

Three Armenians and two Azeris are said to have died in an exchange of fire on the front line.

Despite attempts to reach a peace deal, tension has continued to simmer in the conflict that began after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

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http://www.euronews. … orno-karabakh-clash/

Russian special forces have killed ten insurgents during two operations in the north Caucasus.

Five died during a siege in Nalchik, the regional capital of Kabardino Balkaria. The city has been on lockdown overnight.

The authorities were looking for the people behind recent attacks on local police.

The area has been largely untouched by the spreading violence in the region, but there has been a recent rise in clashes with police.

At the same time, a second siege was underway in neighbouring Dagestan.

The News:
http://www.euronews. … -the-north-caucasus/