Bomb kills at least 2 in Dagestan, Russian police say

MAKHACHKALA, Russia Russian police say a bomb has exploded in a busy shopping area in the capital of the restive republic of Dagestan, killing at least two people.

A spokeswoman for the republic's Interior Ministry, Fatina Ubaidatova, says there were also an undetermined number of people injured in Wednesday's explosion. She did not have details on the force or construction of the bomb.

Dagestan is plagued by Islamic insurgents who frequently mount small attacks on police. The republic is home to the parents of the suspects in last month's Boston Marathon bombing. One of the suspects, who was killed in a shootout with Boston police, paid a long visit to Dagestan last year and investigators are probing whether he had contact with extremists there.