VLADIKAVKAZ, February 3 (RIA Novosti) - The death toll in blasts that rocked a southern Russian republic Thursday night has risen to two, a local spokesperson said.

Three explosions hit three small gambling establishments in the city of Vladikavkaz, the capital of the republic of North Ossetia. The authorities said that 23 people had also been injured, three of them critically.

Investigators are focusing on several possible motives for the explosions on the premises, which housed slot machines, including terrorism and a turf war among local criminals.

Meanwhile, the North Ossetian government has decided to close all gambling establishments in the republic. "The government of North Ossetia made a unanimous decision at an extraordinary session to close all the republic's gambling establishments in connection with Thursday's blasts," government spokesperson Ksenia Gokoyeva said.