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Grozny, Russia • A suicide bomber blew himself up Sunday in the capital of Chechnya, killing five police officers and wounding 12 others as the city celebrated the birthday of its pro-Kremlin leader, officials said.
The Chechen leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, told journalists at the scene that the suicide bomber was wearing a police uniform and presented police identification when he tried to go through metal detectors set up outside a concert hall in Grozny, the capital. When police moved to stop him, he detonated the explosives, Kadyrov said.
The Investigative Committee, Russia's leading federal investigative agency, said no civilians were reported wounded.
The attacker was believed to be a 19-year-old resident of Chechnya, the agency said in a statement.
After two separatist wars in the 1990s, Chechnya has become more stable under Kadyrov. But a Muslim insurgency still simmers throughout Russia's North Caucasus region, which includes Chechnya.