Car bomb kills at least three in Russia's Dagestan Published duration 26 January 2011

At least three people have been killed by a car bomb in the North Caucasus republic of Dagestan, say reports.

Police say at least three other people were injured when the bomb went off by a cafe in the town of Khasavyurt.

Islamist separatists in Dagestan have been fighting the Moscow-backed authorities for years.

The militants are suspected of being behind this week's attack on Moscow's Domodedovo airport which killed 35 people and injured more than 100.

Police spokesman Magomed Tagirov said all those killed in Khasavyurt had been inside the Karavan cafe when the blast struck, the Associated Press news agency reports.

A spokesperson for the town's main hospital told Russia's Interfax news agency that the dead were all civilians.

The Ria-Novosti agency quoted a medical official as saying a fourth person had died while undergoing surgery.

Investigators were reported to be at the scene.

The Dagestan region experiences almost daily attacks from militants wanting to set up an independent Islamic state. The attacks mostly target security forces and police.