MOSCOW, October 6 (RIA Novosti) - A man has been killed in a blast in Chechnya's Vedeno District, local police said on Tuesday.

"Police officers found [on Monday] fragments of the body of an unidentified man near a crater caused by an explosion," an officer told RIA Novosti, adding that metal shards, a watch and batteries were found at the site.

In another Chechen district, Urus-Martan, two contract soldiers were injured in a blast last night.

A combat helicopter that arrived to pick up the injured soldiers came under gunfire attack. No casualties were reported.

Russia's North Caucasus republics, in particular Chechnya, Dagestan and Ingushetia, have seen an upsurge of militant violence this year, with frequent attacks on police and officials.