Authorities say five policemen have been killed trying to defuse a bomb in the restive Russian region of Ingushetia.
The Ingush Interior Ministry said the blast Thursday was in a village near Nazran, the republic's principal city. It was not immediately known if the officers accidentally triggered the blast or if the bomb was set off by remote control.
Remote-controlled bombs are widely used by insurgents in Ingushetia, who are believed to have been inspired by years of separatist fighting in neighboring Chechnya.
Although the fighting in Chechnya has died down, violence continues to wrack Ingushetia. Bombings, shootings and attacks on police are reported almost daily.
