Five policemen were killed when a home-made mine loaded with metal shrapnel exploded in the restive Russian province of Chechnya, a local police official told AFP on Monday.
   
"Yesterday evening in the Staropromyslovsky region of Grozny five interior ministry personnel were killed as a result of an explosion," said Ramzan Edilov, the head of the Staropromyslovsky police department in the Chechen capital.
   
"According to provisional information, the device was home-made, as nuts, bolts and ball bearings were found at the scene," a police check-point on the Staropromyslovsky Road, Edilov said.
   
"The search for the criminals is underway, they will be found and liquidated," he said.
   
Citing other police officials, the RIA Novosti and Interfax news agencies said two other officers had been injured and that the attack took place at around 11:00 pm local time (1900 GMT) on Sunday.
   
An estimated 100,000 civilians and 10,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in two wars against pro-independence rebels in Chechnya since 1994. While major fighting has ended, small-scale clashes continue.