Chechen leader escapes assassination attempt

An assassination attempt on the life of Chechen President, Ramzan Kadyrov, has been averted in the Chechen capital, Grozny, a Russian senior official says.

The Chechen deputy interior minister said that the attacker also wanted to kill State Duma member, Adam Delimkhanov, on Friday while he was waiting for President Kadryov's inspection at a construction site.

Roman Edilov said the police shot the driver of a car that was speeding toward the site where Delimkhanov was waiting.

He said the car carried a container, which the police suspected might be an explosive device. The police first fired warning shots and then killed the driver, who had ignored them.

Police found a 200-liter tanker believed to be filled with explosives. Bomb disposal experts went to work at the scene. Later reports said the driver was identified as a militant leader.

Chechnya, which saw two separatist wars in the late 1990s and early 2000s, has recently been swept by a fresh wave of violence. Shootouts and attacks on troops, police and other officials have been reported daily. The neighboring regions of Russia have also been plagued by instability.

Kadyrov, a former separatist who fought against Russia in the First Chechen War, has pledged to end militancy in Chechnya and occasionally leads police operations. His father, the previous leader of Chechnya, Akhmad Kadyrov, was assassinated in May 2004.