Two police officers killed, one injured in Russia's Dagestan, Council of Europe condemns Abkhazia blast

Two police officers killed, one injured in Russia's Dagestan

17:2414/08/2009 MAKHACHKALA,

August 14, 2009 (RIA Novosti) -

Two police officers were killed and one injured in two separate attacks on police posts in the capital of Russia's North Caucasus republic of Dagestan overnight, a spokesman said on Friday.

The latest killings following an attack on a police post and sauna on Thursday which left eleven people dead

"The first incident occurred in the center of Makhachkala, not far from the city's market. Gunmen shot two police officers at their post with a firearm fitted with a silencer," the spokesman said.

The second incident occurred in the outskirts of Makhachkala, "A traffic police officer was wounded in the head and taken to a city hospital," the spokesman said.

Police also said on Friday that they had identified some of the militants involved in Thursday attack in Dagestan, when gunmen opened fire on a police post in the Caspian Sea town of Buinaksk.

The attackers then stormed into a nearby sauna and gunned down seven women.

A police source in Dagestan said some 15 gunmen were believed to have been involved in the shooting.

Also in Dagestan on Thursday, two police officers were wounded in separate sniper attacks in Makhachkala.

Dagestan, which neighbors Chechnya, has seen an upsurge in militant violence in recent months, with attacks on police and federal forces being a regular occurrence. In June, Dagestan's interior minister was assassinated at a wedding reception.

Council of Europe condemns Abkhazia blast

REUTERS/ Vladimir Popov

PARIS, August 14, 2009 (RIA Novosti) -

The Council of Europe secretary general condemned on Friday a recent explosion in Abkhazia, which killed two and injured seven people, as a terrorist act.

A bomb exploded in the former Georgian republic during Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's visit on Wednesday, the first visit by a senior Russian official since Moscow recognized the region's independence after a brief war with Georgia last summer.

No one has claimed responsibility for the explosion.

"These tragic events can only be described as terrorism, and it is time for everyone in the South Caucasus to recognize that terrorism is a crime and totally unacceptable in today's Europe," Terry Davis said in a statement on the website of the pan-European human rights body.

"A week ago, many international organizations expressed concern that the rhetoric employed by politicians in Georgia and Russia might lead to renewed violence on the anniversary of the war between these countries. I am relieved that the anniversary has passed without the escalation which worried us, but we must condemn the explosion in Abkhazia in recent days," Davis said.

Relations between Russia and Georgia have remained strained since last August's war over South Ossetia, which Moscow also recognized, and tensions have persisted in the border area fueling fears of a new conflict.

Putin's visit to Abkhazia was criticized by the European Union and the United States as not contributing to stabilization in the region, with both urging Russia to respect Georgia's territorial integrity.

On Friday, Abkhazia marks the 17th anniversary of an armed conflict with Georgia, one of the bloodiest in the post-Soviet area. It erupted when Abkhazia broke away from Tbilisi in 1992 after 60 years as a Soviet-era Georgian autonomy. Abkhazia has maintained a de facto independence since September 1993.