Eight killed in Chechnya suicide bombings

Russia's top investigative body says eight people including seven policeman have died after suicide bombings in the capital of Chechnya.

A statement from the Investigative Committee says three perpetrators of the Tuesday evening blasts in Grozny have been identified, but did not specify how many explosions there were. Some Russian news reports said there were two blasts.

According to today's statement, the bombers blew themselves up when police stopped them during a search operation. A further 22 people were wounded, the committee said.

The blasts were the bloodiest recent incident of violence in Chechnya, where an Islamic insurgency has diminished after two full-scale wars with Russian forces over the past two decades. The neighboring republic of Dagestan is plagued by near-daily insurgent violence and clashes with police.

AP