<p><br /> At least 12 people have been killed and 80 injured following a blast at a market in Russia.<br /> </p><p><br /> The blast in the capital of the mostly Orthodox Christian province of North Ossetia came amid a persistent wave of violence linked to an Islamic insurgency in the neighbouring Muslim regions of Chechnya, Ingushetia and Dagestan.<br /> </p><p><br /> The Interfax news agency quoted an unnamed law enforcement official as saying the blast may have been caused by a car bomb.<br /> </p><p><br /> A witness said the blast occurred in a street near the market. Bodies lay on the ground as frantic medics attempted to tend the wounded and fire crews extinguished a wrecked and burning car.<br /> </p><p><br /> North Ossetia, where 331 people died in the 2004 Beslan school siege, has seen relatively little violence in recent years as an Islamist insurgency gained momentum in neighbouring regions.<br /> </p>
