Suicide Bomber Kills 16 at Market in Russia’s Caucasus

Russian investigators examine the site of a blast near a market in Vladikavkaz on September 9, 2010. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)

At least 16 people were killed and 138 injured on Thursday in a suicide bomb attack at the local market in Vladikavkaz, capital of North Ossetia Province, Russia’s violent North Caucasus.

The death toll might rise as many people are in grave condition, Vladikavkaz officials said.

A huge blast came from a car while it was passing along the market’s central entrance at about 11 a.m. local time. The bomb was crammed with metal bars, bolts and ball bearings. The explosive force was the equivalent of 66-88 pounds of TNT, officials said.

North Ossetia officials said that the car had crossed the border with neighboring Ingushetia 20 minutes before the blast, Russian media reported. Officials claimed that the suicide bomber and car’s owner had been identified.

U.S. President Barack Obama expressed his condolences.

“This bombing further underscores the resolve of the United States and Russia to work together in combating terrorism and protecting our people,” he said in a statement.

The local market has been blown up several times in the last decade. Fifty people were killed and dozens injured in a bomb attack in 1999. Since then, there have been several blasts.

The deadly blast came a week after commemoration day of the Sept. 1, 2004, Beslan school tragedy which left 331 people dead.