The television frame taken on April 4, 2010 shows the spot of incident near the Inchkhe station in Dagestan's Karabudakhkentsky district, Russia, April 4, 2010. An explosion derailed eight cars of a cargo train in Russia's North Caucasian republic of Dagestan early Sunday, the Itar-Tass news agency reported
Militants have stepped up attacks in recent months throughout Russia's Caucasus region
An explosive device placed on a railway line derailed a goods train early Sunday in the troubled North Caucasus region of Dagestan, Russian news agencies reported.
At 3:50 am (2350 GMT Saturday), an explosive device blew up on Makhachkala rail line, a spokesman for the FSB secret services in Dagestan told the Interfax news agency.
"As a result eight carriages and an engine derailed. There were no dead or injured," the FSB spokesman said.
Investigators have opened a criminal probe into terrorism, arms trafficking and illegal production of weapons and explosives, Interfax reported, citing Makhachkala's interior ministry's transport police.
A senior special forces official in the North Caucasus told the RIA Novosti news agency that the attack appeared to be linked to the March 29 double suicide bombings in the Moscow metro that killed 40 people.
"The first results of an investigation started early Sunday suggest that this explosion is a continuation of a terrorist attack by North Caucasus rebels that began March 29," the unnamed official told RIA Novosti.
The Moscow attacks were followed by two suicide bombings on Wednesday in the town of Kizlyar in Dagestan that killed 12 people including nine police.
The latest explosion was caused by a device equivalent to five kilograms (11 pounds) of TNT, while a "booby trap" device placed a few metres away contained the equivalent of one kilogram of TNT, the FSB spokesman told Interfax.
A passenger train from the Siberian city of Tyumen to Baku was due to pass along the track two hours after the attack. It has been halted while the tracks are repaired, Interfax reported.
Militants have stepped up attacks in recent months throughout Russia's Caucasus region, where Islamist fighters have been battling pro-Kremlin local authorities and Russian security forces in a sporadic insurgency.
The "Caucasus Emirate" Islamist group, led by Doku Umarov, has claimed responsibility for the Moscow metro bombings and also for the bombing of the Nevsky Express high-speed train in November, which left 28 people dead.
The railway blast that derailed a cargo train in Dagestan was linked to the recent terrorist attacks that rocked Moscow downtown metro and the North Caucasian republic of Dagestan last week, a source with Russian security department disclosed Sunday.
Preliminary investigation suggested the railway explosion was a continuation of terrorist attacks by North Caucasus rebels that began on March 29, the unnamed official told the RIA Novosti news agency.
Investigation showed there were two explosions along the railway, according to the Federal Security Service (FSB).
The first explosion was caused by a device equivalent to five kg of TNT, creating a 110 by 25 centimeter crater. Another device, placed a few meters away and containing the equivalent of one kg of TNT, was intended to target the investigators, an FSB spokesperson said.
An explosion derailed eight cars of a cargo train in Russia's North Caucasian republic of Dagestan early Sunday. No casualties were reported.
The latest explosion followed the Moscow metro terrorist attack that killed 40 people and twin blasts in the Dagestani town of Kizlyar, which killed 12 people including nine police officers.
A Chechen rebel group, led by Doku Umarov, has claimed responsibility for the Moscow metro bombings. Russian security authorities believed the recent bombings were all plotted by the same group.
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