Three policemen were killed in a suicide bombing in a village near the capital of the troubled region, officials in Chechnya said Tuesday.

A spokesman for the Chechen Interior Ministry, Magomed Diniyev, said the explosion occurred around noon at a gas station car wash complex in the city Meskes-Yurt.

The attack is the latest in a growing wave of violence against police and soldiers in the Russian North Caucasus. At least 25 people died in the August 17 suicide truck bombing at a police station in neighboring Ingushetia.

Separatist rebels and Russian troops fought two full-scale wars in Chechnya over the past 15 years, and small clashes continue. For more infometion clik here.