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Bomb Explosion In Chechnya

October 05, 2014
by RFE/RL

Five police officers have been killed after a bomb went off near the venue for a concert that was due to take place in Grozny to mark the city's 196th anniversary.

Russian news agencies reported on October 5 that local police working a metal detector outside the concert venue became suspicious at the behavior of a young man in the crowd.

According to the Interior Ministry, when police approached the man he detonated explosives he was carrying, killing five policemen and wounding up to 12 others.

Local authorities said the man was from the Staropromyslov district of Grozny and had left home two months ago and not been heard from since then.

The bomber, who was also killed in the explosion, was identified as 19-year-old Opti Mudarov.

Pro-Kremlin Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov offered a different account of events outside the concert hall.

Kadyrov said the bomber was armed with a pistol and was posing as a policeman.

Kadyrov credited the police for their professionalism and vigilance, which prevented what could have been a greater catastrophe.

Kadyrov said the 'terrorists had attempted to turn a holiday into a national tragedy and spill the blood of dozens, or hundreds of people.'

Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev ordered all the necessary paperwork be done to give the slain policemen posthumous awards.

'At the cost of their lives, the police saved the lives of thousands of people,' Kolokoltsev said.

The incident happened as Grozny was marking the Day of City, which coincides with Kadyrov's birthday.

Kadyrov earlier in the day had been praising the changes in Grozny, saying the city was in ruins not so long ago but has been reborn.

Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/bomb- explosion-in-chechnya/26621648.html

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Bomb Explosion In Chechnya