Dagestan: Isis claims responsibility for fatal bomb attack on Russian police convoy

One police officer was killed and two were injured when two cars were blown up in Russia's southern Dagestan region, police said. In a statement Islamic State (Isis/Daesh) claimed responsibility for the attack.

In a statement released by the affiliated al-Amaaq news agency, the jihadist group claimed that its Dagestan branch had killed 10 Russian security personnel and injured three in an IED attack east of Kaspiysk.

A police spokeswoman told Reuters that that one person had been killed and two injured in the attack, and the type of explosive used "has not been established yet". Russia's Zvezda reports that the attack targeted a convoy of three police vehicles near Uytash Airport, blowing up one.

According to official figures compiled by AFP, 2,400 people from the Russian Federation have joined IS, the largest number in Europe, with most coming from Dagestan and neighbouring Chechnya. Russian speaking Isis militants have repeatedly threatened attacks against Russia in propaganda videos.

Russia has targeted IS in its military campaign in support of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, with Syrian forces backed by Russian air strikes driving IS from the ancient city of Palmyra earlier this week.

In December, Isis claimed responsibility for a gun attack at the historic Derbent citadel in Dagestan, in which one person was killed and 11 injured. Militants have also claimed responsibility for attacks on security services in the region.