Chechen militant kills self, policeman in blast

Rostov-on-Don: Police in Chechnya
say a militant detonated explosives as officers tried to
detain him, killing himself and one policeman. Nine other
officers were wounded.

Police spokesman Magomed Deniyev identified the
militant as Khamzat Shemilev and said he was suspected of
organizing and carrying out a series of terrorist acts.

Deniyev today said that police surrounded Shemilov
when he left his house the previous night in the center of
Grozny, the Chechen capital. The militant fired a couple of
shots, but when he realized he could not escape he detonated
explosives he was carrying.

Russia has been fighting an insurgency in Chechnya and
other parts of its North Caucasus region following two wars in
the last 15 years.

PTI