Bus bomb kills 5 near checkpoint

A bomb ripped through a bus in Russia’s turbulent North Caucasus region, killing at least five people and injuring 13.

Police said the bus burst into flames after the explosion near the Bratsk police checkpoint at the border between North Ossetia and Kabardino-Balkaria.

The burned-out remains of the vehicle stood near the checkpoint as investigators collected evidence. Police sources said the bomb was packed with nails and pieces of metal. Local prosecutors refused to say whether they were classifying the explosion as a terrorist attack.

North Ossetia was the scene of the Beslan school attack in 2004, when gunmen took hundreds hostage. More than 330 people died during an ensuing raid, half of them children.