GROZNY, Russia, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- Two explosions in Grozny, Chechnya, killed at least seven people and injured 18 others Tuesday evening, the head of the Russian North Caucasus republic said.
Ramzan Kadyrov said five police officers, an Emergencies Ministry official and a civilian died in the explosions in the Chechnyan capital, and the injured victims included law enforcement officials and civilians, RIA Novosti reported.
The first explosion came as police officers tried to detain a suspected militant in the city's Leninsky district. The second occurred about 30 minutes later when police and passersby gathered at the site, RIA Novosti said.
The Russian news agency said an earlier report indicated four people died and five people suffered injuries in explosions apparently set off by suicide bombers.
Chechnya, the site of two separatist wars in the 1990s and early 2000s, has been comparatively calm in recent years, while neighboring Dagestan and Ingushetia have experienced most of the North Caucasus militant violence, RIA Novosti said.
