Suicide bomber attacks Russian hospital
A bomb exploded yesterday in a Russian military hospital in the town of Mozdok, near Chechnya, southern Russia, killing 35 people, according to reports.
Officials forecast the death toll is likely to rise. About 100 patients and 50 staff were in the hospital when the bomb went off at 19:00 local time, Interfax reported.
Officials say a “suicide” bomber drove a truck packed with explosives into the hospital grounds where the bomb was detonated, destroying the entire four-storey building.
Rescue teams said 300 people in nearby buildings were injured by the blast.
Fire initially hampered the rescue operation but are now under control, according to Russian news agencies.
Mozdok was the base for Russian troops when they entered Chechnya in 1999.
No group has yet claimed responsibility.
In June, a suicide bomber from Chechnya blew herself up on a bus in Mozdok, killing 18 people, most of them Russian military police.
