TWO EXPLOSIONS HAVE been reported in southern Russia. A bomb outside a cafe in Pyatigorsk, southern Russia (marked on map), has injured 21 people.

Pyatigorsk city is in the volatile North Caucasus region of Russia. Authorities are investigating the explosion and a bomb squad is on the scene.

The cause of the explosion has not been confirmed, but is believed to have been a car bomb.

In May, a bomb in the same region killed eight people outside a concert hall.

Earlier today, a suicide bomber in a neighbouring region on the North Ossetia and Ingushetia border exploded his bomb when approached by border patrol, killing one guard and wounding another.

A second man was arrested later who is believed to have been heading to Moscow to carry out a terrorist attack.

Speaking about unrest in the south of the country, President Dmitry Medvedev tweeted today about the difficulties in tackling the problem:

Without investment and new jobs Daghestan won’t be calm. Without fighting the militants there will be no investment or economic development.