DHAKA: At least eight people have been wounded in an attack on a mosque in the Russian Caucasus region of Dagestan, officials say.
The regional interior ministry said two masked gunmen opened fire on worshippers on Saturday evening as Muslims celebrated the end of Ramadan in the town of Khasavyurt.
RIA Novosti news agency reported that an explosion occurred in the same mosque later in the day, resulting in more injuries.
"An explosion went off. Altogether there were two explosive devices. One went off, the other is being defused," the agency quoted a regional interior ministry spokesman as saying.
Local police confirmed to Interfax news agency that explosive experts were working in the mosque to defuse an explosive device but denied that the number of wounded had risen.
"We have no information on an explosion or people wounded during the deactivation work," a police spokesman told the agency.
The attack took place at a Shia mosque. Dagestan is a predominantly Sunni Muslim region.
On Sunday, Muslims hold mass celebrations for the Eid al-Fitr holiday, known as Uraz-Bairam in Russian, marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.
Dagestan experiences frequent shootings and bombings that officials blame on local criminals and Islamists with links to Chechnya, where over the past 20 years the Kremlin has fought two wars.
Source: Aljazeera
BDST: 1045 HRS, AUG 19, 2012
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