Pro-Russia Kadyrov Killed In Grozny Blast

Russian media and officials said Kadyrov died in hospital following the blast, which rocked Grozny ‘s packed Dinamo stadium during a parade to mark the 59th anniversary of the defeat of the Nazi, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

There was confusion as to the fate of the top Russian general in Chechnya, Valery Baranov, following the blast.

Interfax news agency initially quoted a source in the Russian command as saying Baranov had been killed in the attack but later quoted an "official source" as saying the general had been seriously injured and was undergoing an operation.

Baranov was the most senior commander of Russian troops in the North Caucasus region that includes Chechnya .

Television footage showed women screaming and at least one injured child being carried away as gun shots were fired into the air after the blast.

The explosive device appeared to have been placed in the middle of the main stand in the stadium.

Only minutes before it occurred, Putin had appeared on Red Square in Moscow to oversee a military parade commemorating Russia ’s Victory Day.

The Russian leader reacted by saying "payback was inevitable" against the people who set off the bomb in Grozny .

Kadyrov assumed power last October amid cries of foul play and rigging.

Elections were seen by his countrymen and rights groups as a farce and resembled Soviet-era elections "with their turnouts of 99.998 percent".

Media reports had said that the Kremlin had rigged the race for the sake of Kadyrov after four front-runners had mysteriously withdrawn or been ejected from Chechnya’s troubled election, leaving Kadyrov as the almost certain winner.

In 1999, some 80,000 Russian troops poured into Chechnya in what Moscow called a lightning-strike "anti-terror operation" but which has since degenerated into a bloody war.

The current conflict, the second war between Russia and Chechen fighters in a decade, has left around 5,000 Russian soldiers dead — 12,000 according to rights groups — and killed thousands of civilians.

It has also driven tens of thousands of Chechens into exile within Russia and abroad.

The U.N. Human Rights Committee last November scolded Russia over ill-treatment of prisoners under interrogation, executions and torture in Chechnya .