9 Dead in Dagestan, North Caucasus, Explosions

At least nine people have been killed in two explosions in the town of Kizlyar in Russia's North Caucasus republic of Dagestan, officials say, reports BBC News.

In the first explosion, a car blew up near the offices of the local interior ministry and the FSB security service.

The second explosion happened about 20 minutes later on the same street.

This comes two days after 39 people were killed in two suicide bombings on the Moscow Metro, for which officials have blamed North Caucasus militants.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has called on security forces to "scrape from the sewers" those responsible, while President Dmitry Medvedev has asked for proposals for new anti-terrorism laws.

Violence in Dagestan has escalated in the past two years following the crackdown on Islamist militants in neighbouring Chechnya. In June 2009, the region's interior minister was shot dead.