Moscow, August 17: In the deadliest terror attack in years, at least 20 people were killed and over 100 injured when a suicide bomber today rammed an explosives-laden truck into the gates of a police station in a southern Russian city in the restive Ingushetia region, neighbouring Chechnya.
The suicide attack in Nazran, the Caucasian Republic of Ingushetia’s largest city, took place when policemen, who bore the brunt of the attack, were lining up in the courtyard at the start of the morning shift.
“At about 09:08 am Moscow time (10.38 IST) a yellow Gazelle truck broke through a gate at a check point near the building. A powerful explosion followed shortly after that,” a local investigator said.
Meanwhile, President Dmitry Medvedev sacked the interior ministry chief in Ingushetia.
“Today I’ve made the decision to relieve Ingushetia’s interior minister of his duties,” he was quoted as saying on state television, adding the terror attack could have been avoided.
Police had fired shots at the truck, but failed to stop it. The blast caused a fire that destroyed a weapons room where ammunition detonated.
At least 20 people were killed, Svetlana Gorbakova of the Regional Branch of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Prosecutor General’s office said.
—Agencies