Explosion rips through Chechen government HQ

Two powerful explosions ripped through the government headquarters in the Chechen capital Grozny today.

One blast was inside the building and the other just outside, Interfax news agency said.

Television showed stunned and bleeding people stumbling out of the rubble. There was no clear estimate of how many had been killed and wounded.

The headquarters, where the civilian government is based, was severely damaged. TV showed windows blown out and a sea of wreckage.

Neither the head of the Chechen administration, Akhmad Kadyrov, nor his deputy Mikhail Babich were in the building. However, many other Chechen government workers were there.