Chechen police killed by militants in Grozny

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said the officers had been killed when they tried to stop the gunmen's cars.

The militants later stormed a building housing local media, officials said.

They said security forces had surrounded the building with the militants trapped inside, and images showed the block in flames.

There were reports of gunfire at the building just before dawn, several hours after the initial incident.

Muslim separatists in Chechnya have fought two wars with Russian forces since the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Grozny has been relatively calm in recent years, following a security crackdown under Mr Kadyrov.

However, in October a suicide bomb attack in the Chechen capital killed five police officers and left at least 12 people injured.

 

(BBC)