7 Russian Soldiers Killed In Car Blast In South Ossetia
A blast in Georgia’s breakaway region of South Ossetia killed seven Russian soldiers, a Russian commander says.
The deaths happened when a car full of explosives blew up near a Russian military base in the regional capital, Tskhinvali, local officials said.
Seven other soldiers were injured in the blast, the Russian military commander in South Ossetia said.
Tension remains high in the re More..gion following the conflict between Russia and Georgia over the summer.
According to a statement from the South Ossetian breakaway government, Russian troops had confiscated the vehicle that blew up from an ethnic Georgian village because it was carrying weapons.
Russian television footage showed a black plume of smoke rising from behind metal gates at the base.
An unidentified Russian foreign ministry official said forces “striving to destabilise the situation” were behind the blast, Russian media reported.
South Ossetian leader Eduard Kokoity went further, describing it as “a deliberate terrorist act prepared by the Georgian Security Ministry”, Russia’s Itar-Tass news agency said.
Georgian Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili rejected the allegation.
“I think this is a provocation with the aim of keeping Russian forces in Georgia,” he told the AFP new agency.
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