2 servicemen killed, 5 injured as a result of explosion in Chechnya

Two servicemen with the commandant office of Grozny's Oktyabrsky district were killed and another five were "seriously wounded and are currently in the hospital" when a mine exploded in the Chechen capital Grozny on Friday, the Oktyabrsky district prosecutor's office said. The mine exploded on Vosmogo Marta Ulitsa (May 8th Street) at about 11:30 a.m. Moscow time Friday morning, the office said. Preliminary reports are that an unidentified bomber activated the explosive device and "fled the scene," the office said. The blast occurred "in the near vicinity" of a passing Ural-make truck and an armoured vehicle, Interfax reports. The explosion was directed and the bomb's explosive force is being determined, the office added.