Explosion kills 3 policemen in Russia's Chechnya

A car bomb explosion killed three policemen and wounded four others in Russia's volatile Chechnya republic, local police said Monday. The explosion near the Sunzhen district Interior Affairs Office was carried out by suicide bombers, said the Chechen Interior Ministry. "At 01:45 Moscow time (2145 GMT Sunday) the police at the traffic police station saw a VAZ car, which rushed along the street and ignored the police's demand to stop," Itar-Tass news agency quoted the police's press service as saying. An on-duty police officer blocked the car with an obstacle and tried to prevent the driver from getting into the office before people in the explosive-laden car detonated the vehicle, according to the press service. Three policemen were killed, including two officers from Russian Interior Ministry who were on a working trip in Chechnya. Four wounded officer were provided with necessary medical assistance. The shock wave of the explosion damaged the police office building and created a shell hole on the site. Investigators were identifying the suicide bomber and verifying the owner of the car. Violence is common in the Northern Caucasus since the mid-1990s with separatists and extremists frequently attacking governmental, military and police facilities.