In Chechnya militants commit act of sabotage against civilians

A remote-controlled land mine was detonated on Wednesday in the Vedeno district in south-eastern Chechnya, which left two girls, aged 14 and 15, wounded, according to the regional headquarters for the counter terrorist operation in the North Caucasus. The mine was set in one of the streets of Makhkety village by militants from an illegal armed formation operating in that area.

A headquarters spokesman told RIA Novosti that a 16-year-old youth, a local resident, was detained on suspicions of involvement in the crime. When questioned, he said that he had set up the explosive device together with two other militants.

According to the spokesman, the bandits had planned to present the terrorist act as artillery shelling of the village by federal forces and thus provoke a protest from the population.