Explosion reported in Uzbekistan capital

An explosion ripped through an outlying district of the Uzbek capital Tashkent today, causing casualties, Russia's Interfax news…

An explosion ripped through an outlying district of the Uzbek capital Tashkent today, causing casualties, Russia's Interfax news agency reported.

The agency quoted an unnamed source as saying the blast occurred in the Sabidrakhim district in the southwest of the capital. It said the number of casualties was being checked but gave no more details.

The city has been in the grip of two days of violence which has killed more than 40 people.

The US-backed authorities blamed radical Islamist groups for a series of explosions on Monday which killed 19 people. Twenty-three died yesterday, when security forces besieged a suspected Islamic militant hideout.

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Officials in Tashkent were not immediately able to comment on the latest report.

Russia's Itar-Tass news agency, quoting sources in the State Prosecutor's Office, had earlier reported that 30 people had been detained in the past 48 hours and charged under anti-terrorism laws.