Grozny double explosion kills woman

At least one person was killed today when two large explosions rocked a district near a government compound in the Chechen capital Grozny.

A woman died in one blast near the region’s Economic Ministry and another blast went off nearby, but it was unclear if it had caused any casualties.

The explosions came a day before the Chechen State Council was to hold its first session in a building that replaced the government headquarters destroyed in a December car bombing that killed at least 70 people.

The attacks have undercut the Kremlin’s efforts to portray the situation in the war-torn region as stabilising. Russian MPs have approved a partial amnesty in the hope of encouraging the rebels to give up their fight.

Rebels forced Russian troops out of Chechnya after a 1994-96 war, leaving the republic de facto independent.

Russian forces rolled back in 1999 after the rebels raided a neighbouring Russian region and after a series of apartment block bombings that were blamed on the Chechen fighters.