MOSCOW, April 13 (RIA Novosti) - A soldier in Chechnya killed his platoon commander and two other soldiers before turning his weapon on himself, a police source told RIA Novosti on Monday.

The source said the incident occurred on Sunday at 6:30 pm [15:30 GMT] in the southern Russian republic.

"The serviceman killed his platoon commander and two other soldiers with an [AK-47] assault rifle and then attempted to commit suicide by shooting himself in the head with the same weapon," the source said.

The soldier is now in a critical condition in hospital. An investigation into the incident has been launched.

In another incident in Chechnya, a soldier was killed by a bomb during a minesweeping operation on Sunday. A search for other explosives in the area is continuing.