Russia Reports 4 Deaths After Suicide Attack

Two Russian servicemen died when suicide bombers blew up a truck packed with explosives outside a Russian facility in Chechnya on Wednesday and rebels raked the area with gunfire after the blast, a Kremlin spokesman said.

The two bombers, a man and a woman, “were blown to bits” and five Russians were wounded, Sergei V. Yastrzhembsky, the Kremlin’s top spokesman for Chechnya, was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.

The attack in Alkhan-Yurt, just south of the republic’s capital, Grozny, was one of the boldest guerrilla actions of the war, now in its 10th month.

According to the report, the truck drove at high speed through a Russian checkpoint and stopped outside a school where Interior Ministry troops are stationed. Seven troopers ran to the vehicle, and it then exploded, Yastrzhembsky was quoted as saying.

After the explosion, the Russian troops were hit by a squall of gunfire from nearby rebel positions, he said. Government helicopter gunships flew to the scene, and the firing abated, Interfax said.

However, the Itar-Tass news agency reported that artillery fire was continuing in Alkhan-Yurt late Wednesday.

Chechnya’s rebels have mounted a series of hit-and-run attacks in Russian-controlled territory in recent weeks. This is the first in which there have been reports of them using car or truck bombs.

The rebels, although outnumbered and outgunned, have tormented Russian troops with sniping and lightning attacks that sometimes produce casualties.

Earlier Wednesday, the military said that Russian forces had come under fire at least 19 times in the preceding 24 hours but that no soldiers were hit.

However, one Russian soldier was killed Tuesday when a mortar exploded as his unit was shelling a forest near Gudermes, officials said.