Ingush prime minister injured as explosions hit Russia
The second-highest-ranking official in the mostly Muslim southern Russian region of Ingushetia was wounded in an assassination attempt today when two explosions hit the region’s main city, Nazran.
Fyodor Shcherbakov, an aide to the Kremlin envoy to the region, said Ingush prime minister Ibragim Malsagov had been wounded, but that his life was not in danger.
He said Malsagov’s driver and one of his bodyguards, as well as several passers-by, were also wounded in the blasts. In all, up to six people were wounded, Shcherbakov said.
The top police official in Ingushetia, Interior minister Beslan Khamkhoyev, said two explosives placed about 10 to 15 metres apart had detonated within the space of 10 seconds, the Interfax news agency reported.
The attack occurred near one of the city’s outdoor markets as the prime minister’s motorcade passed.
Nazran is the main city in the Ingushetia region, which has suffered frequent spill-over violence from neighbouring Chechnya.
