Chechen official says only bomber dies in checkpoint attack

MOSCOW – The interior minister of Chechnya says a woman detonated a vest of explosives at a checkpoint outside the capital of Grozny and she was the only person killed.

Chechen Interior Minister Alti Alaudinov told Russian news agencies Saturday evening the attack took place after officers at the checkpoint noticed the woman exhibiting “strange behaviour” and asked her to stop and present identification.

Alaudinov says she ignored the order and instead charged the checkpoint.

He said: “The officers saw she was wearing a suicide belt and fired a warning shot” before the woman set off the explosives.

The regional branch of Russia’s Investigative Committee, a law enforcement body, is working to identify her.