2 Russian Guards Killed in Attack on Hydro-Electric Station of North Caucasus Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, July 21, 2010

2 Russian Guards Killed in Attack on Hydro-Electric Station of North Caucasus Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria

Explosions rock Russian power plant, two killed by gunmen

MOSCOW, July 21, 2010 (Xinhua) --

At least two people were killed and another two wounded by a group of up to four gunmen before explosions rocked a hydro-electric station in Russia's North Caucasus region on Wednesday, news agencies reported.

The gunmen, believed to be militant fighters, entered the station at 04:20 a.m. Moscow time (0020 GMT) to place explosives and shot two guards dead, local police were quoted as saying.

One hour later, three explosions occurred with an interval of five to six minutes near the small town of Baksan in the North Caucasus republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, damaging part of the facilities and triggering a fire at the first and second floors of the power plant.

A fourth explosion was reported later when sappers detonated another bomb, causing minor impact.

According to Russia's national anti-terrorism committee, possible suspects of the attack have been identified.

Following the incident, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin instructed his deputy Igor Sechin to map out a plan to repair the damage and provide power from other sources in the meantime, said his spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Sechin would also chair a meeting later in the day, attended by the Energy Ministry and energy companies to analyze the bombings, said Peskov, adding the Russian Energy Ministry meanwhile had established a crisis center led by Deputy Energy Minister Andrei Shishkin.

Local authorities played down the risks of floods, saying the water gate had been closed in time. They also said local electricity supplies would be unaffected as other stations would be able to cope with the extra demand.

Meanwhile, they did not rule out the existence of other explosive devices at the power plant, which has already been cordoned off. Orders have been given to beef up security and protection of all the power plants across the country.

Local police has called the incident a terrorist attack. A law enforcement source was cited by the RIA Novosti news agency as saying the same group of assailants may be responsible for an earlier attack on police.

"At 3:15 a.m. (2315 GMT Tuesday), a police building was attacked with a grenade launcher in the city of Baksan. There were no casualties," said the source.

The Baksan hydropower plant was built between 1930 and 1936.

The latest attack follows a series of attacks on June 11, when six TV and radio stations were attacked overnight at various districts of the republic, causing neither casualties nor disruption of normal operation of the stations.

Violence is common in Russia's mainly Muslim North Caucasus republics, especially Chechnya, Dagestan and Ingushetia, with militants frequently targeting police and officials as representing the Russian authorities.

Moscow has announced it will tackle the problem of unemployment, clan rivalry and corruption as these are viewed as the reasons for violence in the region.

Editor: Zhang Xiang

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