Deadly explosions rip through Chechen capital

AL Jazeera Europe

Festivities marking the end of Ramadan cut short in Grozny, after twin suicide bombings leave eight people dead.   Last Modified: 31 Aug 2011 09:36

Eight people, seven of them police, have been killed in two suicide bomb attacks in Chechnya's capital Grozny during celebrations marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. A man detonated an explosive device on Tuesday when a police patrol tried to detain him. A second blast occurred soon afterwards. The state-run RIA news agency said two suicide bombers were behind the blasts. The explosions killed seven police officers and an emergency services worker, and wounded at least 16 people. The scene of the explosion, in a densely populated district of Grozny, 50 metres from a local parliament building, was cordoned off by police. Residents told the Reuters news agency they heard gun shots after the explosions. A decade after Russian forces drove separatists out of power in Chechnya, the Kremlin is still struggling to contain Islamist armed groups fighting in the north Caucasus. The violence has now spread from Chechnya to other mainly Muslim regions. None of the Islamist rebel leaders claimed responsibility for the attack. "Today is the most sacred day for all Muslims. On that day a trained and zombified bandit attempted to carry out a terrorist attack," Chechnya's Moscow-backed leader Ramzan Kadyrov told RIA. "The bandits have shown their real face, which only proves that this evil should be eradicated."

Source: Agencies

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