CHECHNYA: At least 21 policemen were killed yesterday when an explosion ripped through a convoy in the Chechen capital, Grozny.
The blast, which came a day after 11 Russian soldiers were killed further south, was the biggest attack yet on Chechnya's fledgling police force.
The ambush happened only 300 ft from the city's main police headquarters.
The first bus in the convoy hit a remote-controlled mine, and suspected rebels then opened fire on the line of vehicles, officials said.
Witnesses said the gunfire came from a nearby building and lasted about 15 minutes.
Russian TV showed the mangled carcasses of a bus and a truck, and partially burned police identity papers collected at the scene.
Russian troops immediately launched a sweep of the capital, blocking all main roads in the city. The Interfax news agency quoted Mr Bislan Gantamirov, the deputy premier of the Chechen government, as saying five suspects had been detained, one after being wounded in a shoot-out. NTV television said 12 reporters and cameramen from the local Chechen television station were detained.
In his state of the nation address yesterday, President Putin reiterated Moscow's line that "the military stage of the conflict can be considered over".