Suicide Bomber Kills at Least 20 in Russia

Police fired shots at the truck, but failed to stop it. The blast from about 440 pounds of explosives also started a fire that destroyed a weapons room, with resulting ammunition detonations.

The southern region has been unsettled, but there were Kremlin claims that the area was stabilizing after two wars in Chechnya. This incident obviously belies that statement.

Local authorities announced a three-day mourning period, while Ingushetia's president, Yunus-Bek Yevkurov said in a statement, "It was an attempt to destabilize the situation and sow panic." Yevkurov himself was badly wounded in another suicide bombing in June.

Yevkurov blamed Chechen separatist warlord Doku Umarov for the June attack which injured him. However, he also accused the United States, Britain and Israel of promoting instability in the region, noting that "the West will try to prevent Russia from restoring its Soviet-era might." More saber-rattling.