A suicide bomber killed two police officers on Tuesday evening in the Chechen capital of Grozny, police said.
The blast occurred when officers attempted to detain the suspected militant in the city Leninsky district, a police spokesman said. Five people, inclduing three police officers, were injured in the explosion.
Some 30 minutes later, a second blast occurred in the same area. There are also reports of injuries.
“The criminals have shown their true nature and this is more proof that they should be eliminated,” Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said.
Chechnya, which witnessed two brutal separatist wars in the 1990s and early 2000s, has seen a relative calm in recent years, with neighboring Dagestan and Ingushetia bearing the brunt of North Caucasus militant violence.
