A car bomb exploded Tuesday morning in the center of Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan, Interfax reported, capping a violent few days in the troubled southern Russian region. The mainly Muslim region, which neighbors Chechnya, has grown increasingly violent in the past few years. It's early yet, but there are reports of injuries.

On Sunday, authorities announced they had killed eight insurgents in a counterterrorism operation in the south of the region. They also said they destroyed three bunkers used for storing weapons and food. A member of the security services was also killed in the attack.

Also Sunday, Yakhya Magomedov, the editor of an Islamic newspaper called Al Salam, was shot dead in his village. Last week, the Committee to Protect Journalists called on local police to investigate an attack on Magomed Khanmagomedov, a correspondent for respected local weekly Chernovik (I interviewed its editor-in-chief for this story) who was beaten while on assignment in the city of Derbent.