Chechnya Land Mine Said to Kill 5 Boys

A land mine exploded in a Chechen village, reportedly killing five boys between the ages of 10 and 12. Movladi Udugov, the Chechen deputy prime minister and information minister, told the Interfax news agency that the explosion in the village of Berkat-Yurt, 4 miles southwest of the capital, Grozny, appeared to be deliberate. “The mine was remote-controlled. It was a premeditated explosion,” Udugov said. “It may be related to a series of terroristic acts carried out in Chechnya recently.” He did not elaborate. The Russian Interior Ministry denied the charges, Interfax reported. It said Col. Nikolai Golovnyov, ministry spokesman in Moscow, said the boys were trying to take apart an artillery shell when it blew up, killing three of them and wounding another.