Passenger Bus in Russia Explodes, Killing at Least Five, Wounding 12

ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia — A passenger bus caught fire and exploded in Russia's troubled North Caucasus yesterday, killing at least five people and wounding 12, emergency and police officials said. Investigators said they considered terrorism the likely cause. The incident took place in the North Ossetia region, which is plagued by violence from feuding criminal groups, remnants of Chechen separatist fighters, and other militant groups that target government and police. But authorities did not point to any specific group that is suspected. The bus traveling from the southern city of Pyatigorsk was near a police post on the administrative border of North Ossetia when the fire broke out, a spokesman for the regional Emergency Situation Ministry, Oleg Ugnivnenko, said. The explosion happened shortly after.