GROZNY. June 20 (Interfax-AVN) - A bombing in downtown Grozny has harmed at least five people, Chechen Prosecutor Vladimir Kravchenko told Interfax on Friday.
A KamAZ truck stuffed with a large amount of explosive was set off, he said.
"The number of those affected by the blast is likely to rise significantly," Kravchenko said.
"The building of the investigation office, the former headquarters of the organized crime department, has been badly damaged. The power of the blast was comparable to that last December at the same place," Kravchenko said.
"This is definitely a terrorist attack," he said.
An Interfax correspondent earlier reported from the scene that a powerful explosion occurred about 300 meters from the Chechen government headquarters in Grozny's Staropromyslovsky district at about 4:20 p.m. Moscow time.
The Grozny city council told Interfax that a vehicle stuffed with explosives was blown up.
"Preliminary data indicate that the blast came from a vehicle loaded with explosives. The blast was so powerful that it smashed windows even at the Mayor's Office. This did not happen when the government building was blown up last December," the Interfax source said.
Security measures in the Chechen capital have been tightened after the incident, and "all checkpoints have been instructed to check passing vehicles," he said.