Russia has fought two wars against Chechen separatists since the early 1990s. A series of attacks by Islamist militants on the security forces and local leaders over the recent months has shattered several years of relative calm and raised questions about Kremlin’s control of the north Caucasus region.
Russian news agencies carried conflicting reports on the number of people who suffered in the blast, but local officials said there were no fatalities. “I officially declare there were no victims in the explosion,” Chechen Interior Minister Ruslan Alkhanov said at the scene of the blast. “Two Chechen policemen and four civilians were wounded.”
An eyewitness said a young woman had approached the police car and blew herself up. Others said there had been three policemen in the car at the moment of the explosion.
Published 16 September 2009, 16:32 IST