(Thumbnail image from Al Jazeera English)

A suicide bombing at a police station kills at least 20 and injures nearly 140 people in the Russian republic, Ingushetia. Ingushetia is located on the North Caucasus region of Russia, where there have been two wars and hundreds of violent attacks since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. Some say there is civil unrest in the area, others are pointing to outside forces for the attack.

Russia Today spoke with a representative from the prosecutor’s office who gives reasons for the attack.

“The most likely motives are revenge for the war that police are waging against militants, or an attempt to destabilize the situation in the region.”

A correspondent with France24 says there is a larger issue here, as can be seen from the recent stream of violence coming from the region.

“Because of the high level of corruption in this region, and very high unemployment, and also a very nasty battle for power for financial resources. The situation in this region is really very unstable.”

Al Jazeera English quotes Ingushetia’s president, who points a finger at the West.

"I am miles from believing that Arabs are behind this. There are other, more serious forces there... We understand whose interests these are: the United States, Britain, and Israel too” "The West will keep seeking to prevent Russia from reviving the former Soviet might" 

A writer for The New York Times says the bombing is an indication of trouble for the president – especially when it came just a week following his announcement to return to work after a failed assassination attempt in June.

“The attack seemed to further undermine the authority of Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, Ingushetia’s populist president who came to power last October vowing a softer approach in dealing with rebel violence than Ramzan Kadyrov, the president of neighboring Chechnya.”

So what do you think? Why is there all this violence in this region and how could it stop?