Eight killed in Chechnya suicide attack

MOSCOW: Eight people, seven of them police, were killed in a suicide bomb attack in Chechnya's capital Grozny on Tuesday during celebrations at the end of the Muslim festival of Ramazan, a police source told Interfax news agency.

A man detonated an explosive device when a police patrol tried to detain him and a second blast occurred soon afterwards, an unidentified police official told the privately-owned agency.

State-run RIA news agency quoted a police source as saying two suicide bombers were behind the blasts.

The explosions killed seven police officers and an emergency services worker, and wounded at least 16 people, Interfax said.

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 they heard gunshots after the explosions. (Reuters)