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Key insurgent commander killed in E. Ukraine explosion

Xinhua, February 8, 2017 Adjust font size:

A key commander of independence-seeking insurgents was killed early Wednesday in an explosion in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region, local media reported.

Mikhail Tolstykh, 36, nicknamed Givi, was killed at around 6:12 a.m. local time (0412 GMT) by a blast in his office, said the insurgent-run DAN news agency, citing the rebel operational command.

Preliminary investigation showed the explosion was caused by a rocket-propelled flame thrower, the Bumblebee, the agency said.

The insurgent operational command has blamed Kiev for the attack, saying that Givi's death was "in the interest of the Ukrainian special forces."

Yuriy Tandyt, the aid to the head of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU), said later that the SBU does not have enough information to confirm or deny the death of the rebel commander, because the incident happened in an area that is beyond Kiev's control.

Tolstykh commanded the insurgent battalion called Somali that took part in major battles against government troops in the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

The tensions in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions worsened last week as fierce fighting erupted between government troops and pro-independence insurgents in the Kiev-controlled Avdeevka town, resulting in dozens of combatant and civilian casualties. Endi