Two senior Russian officers were killed when their armoured vehicle was hit by explosives in Chechnya today, Interfax news agency reported, two days after a gun attack in a nearby province.
Russian security officials have said they expected a rise in rebel attacks after Russia launched a military incursion into Georgia, an ex-Soviet republic neighbouring Chechnya, to crush its attempt to retake the breakaway region of South Ossetia.
In the latest incident, a major and a lieutenant died of their wounds and two other officers were injured after two bombs went off underneath their vehicle in the village of Agishty.
On Friday, gunmen killed one soldier and wounded three in an attack on a Russian army convoy in southern Ingushetia province, Interfax reported.
Attacks on police, officials and troops are not unusual in Russia's Northern Caucasus, poor regions adjoining the Georgian border.
Officials blame the attacks on criminal elements and Muslim rebels, while their critics say poverty, corruption and widespread abuse of power keep social tensions high
Reuters