Stadium blast kills Chechen president

THE Kremlin-backed president of Russia's warring Chechnya region was killed yesterday when an explosion tore through a stadium in the Chechen capital where he was attending Victory Day observances, officials said.

Some 30 people died in the blast that killed Akhmad Kadyrov, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported. A top Russian military commander, Col-Gen Valery Baranov, was also at the stadium and there were conflicting reports on whether he had died or was seriously wounded.

Mr Kadyrov's death was reported by an official of the Chechen Interior Ministry. It was later confirmed by the regional military command, ITAR-Tass said.