Two motor vehicles of federal forces blown up in Chechnya

Two motor vehicles of federal forces have been blown up in Chechnya, with six men injured.

The law enforcement bodies of this North Caucasian republic within Russia reported on Wednesday that at about 2:00 p.m. Moscow time on the day before a UAZ (Ulyanovsk motor works) all-road vehicle with OMON (special purpose police unit) officers hit an explosive device and was blown up. The vehicle was on its way to the place where a Defense Ministry convoy was blown up in the area of the populated locality of Aslanbek-Sheripovo in the Shatoi district of the republic.

"Five policemen have suffered concussions and were given medical assistance. The vehicle is badly damaged," a source told the agency.

Earlier, at about 11:45 a.m. Moscow time an unidentified explosive device was hit by a vehicle from a convoy of federal forces, with one serviceman receiving a contusion.

"As the Defense Ministry convoy, which consisted of three armored cars and a Ural truck, was moving, a tracked road tractor hit the explosive device," the headquarters of the joint group of forces in the North Caucasus said.

Operative measures are currently being taken to identify the people who placed the explosive devices.