South Ossetia blames Georgia over deadly car bomb
Friday, 03 Oct 2008 16:01
South Ossetia blames Georgia for car bomb which killed six people in breakaway region's capital on Friday
South Ossetia says it holds Georgia responsible for a car bomb in the breakaway region's capital that killed six people.
The rebel region's president Eduard Kokoity said Georgian security agents were behind the attack, which reportedly killed six Russian peacekeepers.
The bomb went off in Tskhinvali at 16:45 Moscow time (13:45 BST), a spokeswoman for the South Ossetian government said.
Georgia and Russia fought a ten-day war in August after Tbilisi began shelling Tskhinvali.
At the height of the conflict, which drew international condemnation against Moscow, Russian tanks advanced on the Georgian capital while both sides accused each other of genocide.
In the aftermath Russia officially recognised South Ossetia and fellow Georgian rebel region Abkhazia as independent states.
Mr Kokoity told Russian news agency Itar-Tass on Friday that he blamed Georgia for the car bomb attack.
"The car was stuffed with explosives. That was a deliberate terrorist act prepared by the Georgian security ministry. We know their style well," he said.
"The bomb killed servicemen and civilians, who had purchased the car on the Georgian territory and had brought it to the peacekeepers' headquarters for a check-up."