KGB investigators probe blast in Grodno region off Belarusian-Polish border
MINSK. Oct 5 (Interfax) - An unidentified explosive device has exploded off the Belarusian-Polish border in the Grodno region, the Belarusian State Border Committee's press secretary Alexander Tishchenko has told Interfax.
"An investigation team has been set up at the Grodno region's KGB department in the wake of the blast that took place just near the Belarusian-Polish border," he said.
"Border security on the Belarusian-Polish stretch of border has been tightened," Tishchenko said.
"Servicemen of the Grodno border protection group spotted footprints leading towards Poland. As they followed the footprints, they came across two craters caused by explosions of an unclear origin with fragments of clothes and burnt currency banknotes scattered around them," the spokesman said.
Polish frontier guards were promptly informed about the incident and later detained seven Vietnamese and Afghan nationals, all of them illegal immigrants, he said.
The Belarusian KGB's press service confirmed to Interfax that "at 3 a.m. on Monday, the KGB department of the Grodno region received information from the Grodno border group about a violation of the state border by a group of persons". Preliminary conclusions suggested that the border was crossed from Belarus to Poland. Later, traces of an explosive device or object were found at the scene of the crossing, the press service said.
"The nature of the blast and possible casualties are being determined. One of the cross-border violators appears to have been injured," it said.
Bomb experts and detectives are working at the scene.
"The Grodno region's KGB Department in cooperation with other law enforcement agencies has launched a terrorist and extremist threat response plan", the press service said.
