MOSCOW, May 9 (Xinhuanet) -- Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov and a top Russian general were killed in a powerful blast in a stadium in the republic's capital Grozny on Sunday.

    The blast occurred underneath a VIP-seating area in the Dynamo stadium during a ceremony marking Russia's 59th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.

    Kadyrov and General Valery Baranov, head of the Joint Army Command of the North Caucasus, were killed at the scene of the blast. They died after the explosion tore through the stadium where the president was attending a Victory Day celebration.

    At least 25 people were wounded in the blast, officials said.

    The explosion was reportedly caused by a land mine that was planted under VIP seats at the stadium, officials said.

    It is not immediately clear how many people were killed in the incident. Media reports said earlier a large number of people were injured.

    The 52-year-old president, a one-time Muslim cleric, was elected the republic's president earlier this year.

    Russia's independent NTB TV channel reported that people in the stadium were being dispersed with the help of local servicemen.

    Russia has been fighting separatists in Chechnya since the early 1990s. Enditem