Moscow - At least one person was killed and four others were seriously wounded after a suicide bomber blew himself up in the autonomous Russian republic of Ingushetia late Friday.

The bomber drove up to a police checkpoint in the city of Nazran and blew himself up, the Interfax news agency reported. Two police officers were among those seriously wounded.

President Dmitry Medvedev has called on Russian officials to take steps to stabilize the situation in the northern Caucasus as quickly as possible.

Violence in the region, which also includes the Russian republics of Chechnya and Dagestan, has soared in recent months. High-ranking government officials and human rights activists have been among the victims of attacks by Islamist militants and criminal gangs. (dpa)