Grozny - The head of the police's anti-kidnapping force in Russia's breakaway Chechnya region died after his car was blown up yesterday, a Chechen Interior Ministry official said.
Mr Shaid Bargishev died in hospital several hours after he was wounded in the powerful explosion along with two bodyguards, said Mr Supyan Akhmadov, head of the anti-kidnapping force's investigative department.
Chechen leaders said the assassination attempt was probably intended to deter special police operations that were due to start yesterday, to end a wave of kidnappings.