Policemen killed in Georgia's breakaway republic

Two policemen have been killed and 17 people injured by a blast at a village police station in the Georgian breakaway republic of South Ossetia. Local authorities blame the explosion on Georgian special services.

Earlier reports suggested the blast could be linked with early voting in Russia’s presidential election that’s underway among Russian citizens in the republic. However, South Ossetian police have denied such a connection.

The South Ossetian Interior Ministry says the bomb was intended for the head of the so-called “alternative government” of the breakaway republic Dmitry Sanakoev.

The device was reportedly placed in a TV set that had been seized from a car travelling from Georgia.

The driver said the device was a present for Sanakoev and promised to return with the necessary paperwork.

The blast occurred when policemen turned the TV on.