One policeman was killed and three more wounded after a car loaded with explosives blew up on early Tuesday at a border checkpoint between North Ossetia and Ingushetia, a spokeswoman for the North Ossetian Interior Ministry said.
“The explosion was so powerful that parts of the car were scattered within the radius of 100 meters [328 feet],” Alla Akhpolova said.
The Lada car, which approached the checkpoint moving from Ingushetia, was allegedly driven by a suicide bomber, she added.
North Ossetian Deputy Interior Minister Kazbek Bekmurzov confirmed that one policeman was killed and three wounded as the car exploded near the checkpoint at 4:20 a.m. Moscow time (0:20 GMT).
“We have one killed [policeman] and three heavily wounded, with one of them in an extremely critical condition. All wounded were taken to a hospital in Vladikavkaz,” he said.
The Interior Minister of North Ossetia is expected to be shortly at the scene of the blast, Akhpolova added.