MOSCOW, July 15 (RIA Novosti) - Seven soldiers were killed and six injured in an accidental explosion in Russia's North Caucasus republic of Chechnya, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.
The ministry said the blast occurred while soldiers were unloading ammunition from a tank into a truck.
Military prosecutors have already launched a probe into the incident.
Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov has sent a special commission to the North Caucasus Military District.
On Tuesday Russia began the active stage of large-scale military exercises in several regions of the Southern Federal District, which includes the highly volatile North Caucasus republics. The exercise, dubbed Caucasus Frontier 2008, involves some 8,000 military personnel, about 700 combat vehicles and over 30 aircraft.
