Car bomb explodes in Russia's Ingushetia region; several injured

A car bomb exploded outside a bank in southern Russia's violence-plagued Ingushetia region Monday, injuring at least five people, authorities said.

The bomb went off beneath a Mercedes parked on a central street in the regional capital, Nazran, the Ingush Interior Ministry and the regional emergency department said.

The blast occurred when a police officer used a remote control to unlock to the car, which belonged to him, the regional Investigative Committee said. It said the officer and another policeman who was with him were seriously injured and that three passers-by were also injured. One declined medical treatment.

The Emergency Situations Ministry's southern Russia branch said that six people were injured. There was no immediate explanation for the discrepancy.

Ingushetia, a small region adjacent to war-scarred Chechnya in Russia's volatile North Caucasus, is the site of frequent attacks targeting law enforcement authorities.