ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia (AP) — A suicide bombing in Chechnya killed four police officers Tuesday, authorities in the restive Russian region said.
Magomed
Diniyev, a spokesman for the Chechen Interior Ministry, said the blast
took place about midday in a gas station-carwash complex in the town of
Mesker-Yurt, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) southeast of the capital
Grozny.
One police officer and two civilians were also wounded in the blast, the ministry said.
The attack is the latest in a rising wave of violence against police and soldiers in Russia’s North Caucasus. At least 25 people died in the Aug. 17 suicide truck bombing of a police station in neighboring Ingushetia.
Separatist rebels and Russian troops have fought two full-scale wars in Chechnya over the past 15 years, and small clashes persist.
Earlier
Tuesday, the Chechen Interior Ministry said a policeman was killed and
another wounded in an overnight clash with militants.
On Friday, suicide bombers on bicycles killed four policemen in Chechnya.
