Three die in Grozny shoot-out

Reports from Chechnya say at least three people were killed in the capital, Grozny, in what the city's mayor described as a chaotic exchange of fire.

According to the Interfax news agency two civilians and a member of the riot police died.

The mayor, Bislan Gantamirov, was reported as saying that three commissions, including one appointed by the Russian defence ministry and one set up by the Chechen administration, are investigating the incident.

The mayor said local people were indignant about what had happened -- the city council would carry out an independent investigation.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service