A truck packed with explosives blew up and killed at least 11 people at a local police headquarters in Russia's turbulent Ingushetia region on Monday, police said.

Ingushetia, a mainly Muslim region that neighbours Chechnya, has seen a surge in violence and lawlessness in the past few months blamed by the Kremlin and local authorities on Islamic insurgents.

The truck blew up near the police base in Ingushetia's biggest town of Nazran, said Kaloi Akhilgov, a spokesman for the region's president.

"Practically all the cars and buildings in the yard of the police headquarters were completely destroyed" by the equivalent of 50 kilograms of TNT, Interfax quoted a law-enforcement source as saying.

At least 11 people were killed and 50 injured in the blast, police spokeswoman Madina Khadziyeva told Reuters. Russian news agencies quoted hospital sources as saying at least 12 died.

The bomb exploded as police lined up for morning inspection, Itar-Tass news agency reported.

Russian leaders have expressed alarm over rising tensions in Ingushetia and nearby North Caucasus provinces.

Ingush President Yunus-Bek Yevkurov was badly injured in June when a suicide bomber attacked his car. He is now recovering after intensive medical treatment.

Critics say flourishing corruption and abuse of power by authorities are the main reasons behind tensions. Yevkurov, a former paratrooper installed by the Kremlin to restore order, has vowed to fight both rebels and corrupt officials. - Reuters