Earlier today a suicide bomber in Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, experienced a premature detonation, killing himself and five policemen while wounding a number of others. The alert policemen who stopped the mujahid for questioning may have saved the lives of many other people who crowded the city’s center for a holiday event.

The tragedy had nothing to do with Islam.

Many thanks to DarLink for translating, and to Vlad Tepes for subtitling this Russian news video.

WARNING: Although the most horrific images in this video have been blurred out, sensitive viewers may find some of the footage of the carnage disturbing:

Below is an English-language article from Itar-Tass that gives a different body count:

Man Who Blew Himself Up in Grozny Identified

The explosion killed four police officers and injured four more

MOSCOW, October 5. /TASS/. A man who blew himself up in the Chechen capital city of Grozny on Sunday has been identified, a spokesman for the Russian interior ministry told TASS.

“The man has been identified as a resident of the Staropromyslovsky district who has been missing since he left home two months ago,” the spokesman said.

An investigation is underway.

Earlier on Sunday, the press centre of the Russian interior ministry said that that a major terrorist attack had been prevented by the police in Grozny.

“A concert on the occasion of the City Day was planned for Sunday evening in Grozny,” the press centre said. “Police officers who were on duty at walk-through metal detectors near the concert hall saw a suspicious-looking young man. When the police officers moved towards him, the man blew himself up.”

The explosion killed four police officers and injured four more, the press centre said, adding that there was no information about casualties among civilians.

Video transcript:

00:03		Police established the identity of the suicide bomber
00:06		who blew himself up in the city center, near the holiday festivities.
00:11		It was a local resident — 19 year old Arti Murdalov.
00:14		He left home two months ago and no one had heard from him since.
00:18		President of the Chechnya Republic Ramzam Kadyrov made a statement.
00:21		He said that the terrorist presented himself as a member of the police force
00:26		to a group of policemen who stopped him.
00:28		During the ID check he activated an IED.
00:30		As a result, five policemen died.
00:33		At this time we have information that twelve policemen were wounded.
00:36		One of them is in critical condition.
00:39		The Minister of Internal Affairs of Russia, Vladimir Kolokol’zev, has already given an order
00:42		to award medals to the fallen policemen.
00:45		They lost their lives while preventing possible heavy civilian casualties.
00:50		The suicide bomber’s goal was to get to a square in Grozny
00:53		where crowds had gathered to listen to a Teacher’s Day concert.