Insurgents attack Chechen parliament
Insurgents storm the Chechen parliament leaving two police officers and a an official dead. Channel 4 News International Editor Lindsey Hilsum says the rebels are warning they are still in business.
At least three insurgents were also killed in the attack on Tuesday morning.
One of the insurgents set off a bomb at the gates of the parliament complex in the provincial capital of Grozny, killing himself and wounding others, according to the Chechen police spokesman Ramzam Bekkhovev.
Two other gunmen then ran into the building shouting “Allahu Akbar” and opened fire on the people inside.
A gunfight ensued with police and the two gunmen were killed, according to the Chechen presidential spokesman Alvi Kerimov.
The police confirmed all of the attackers are believed to be dead.
Russian Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev is holding talks with President, Ramzan Kadyrov about the violence.
Earlier reports suggested insurgents had targeted the Agriculture Ministry building and shots were fired near the office of parliament speaker Dukvakha Abdurakhmanov, but Interfax reported he had been safely evacuated from the building.
Chechen rebels still in business despite divisionsThe attack in the centre of the Chechen capital seems designed to show the visiting Russian Interior Minister that President Kadyrov doesn't have total control, writes Channel 4 News International Editor Lindsey Hilsum.
Chechen rebels always call Kadyrov a "puppet" of Russia. His hardline – many would say brutal – policies have put the rebels on the defensive, but on 29 August, they launched an attack on his home village Tsentoroi.
The rebels have also been fighting amongst themselves. Earlier this year, several commanders split from the head of the self-proclaimed "Caucasus Emirate" Doku Umarov, and exiled Chechen leader Akhmed Zakayev was arrested in Austria.
Today's attack shows that they are nonetheless still in business.
Chechen battel against insurgency
Islamist insurgency has been a major problem in the Russian North Caucasus of Chechnya for several years.
In the 1990s Russia fought two wars with Chechen separatists before installing a secure government there in 2000.
Most Islamist insurgents have moved over into the neighbouring Russian republics of Dagestan and Ingushetia since the two wars, with attacks rarely striking the heart of Grozny in recent years.
But in August 19 people were killed in the Moscow-supported Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov’s home village, where his guards clashed with suspected insurgents. Five civilians were among the dead.