A bomb exploded Friday outside a government office in Makhachkala, killing a top-ranking police official, the regional Ministry of Internal Affairs said.

The bomb was planted on the roadside in the center of Makhachkala, the capital of the restive Dagestan region.

The blast killed the deputy head of the ministry`s criminal investigation department, Magomed Magomedov, who was sitting in a car parked next to the regional office of the Emergency Ministry, said Ministry of Internal Affairs spokeswoman Marina Rasulova.

Magomedov`s driver was wounded, she said.

Dagestan has seen attacks on dozens of police and government officials in recent years, as unrest increasingly spills over from Chechnya, where Russian troops have been battling separatist rebels for more than a decade.
sections: Accidents, Region News
areas: Southern region