Russia opens criminal case after local official killed in Stavropol explosion

Russia opened a criminal case on Thursday after two men, including a local government official who had fought in Ukraine, were killed in an explosion in the southern city of Stavropol, Russia's Investigative Committee and the regional governor said.

Zaur Gurtsiev, a city official who was due to be appointed to Stavropol's regional administration, and another unidentified man, were killed.

Video footage published on social media showed two men standing close to some parked cars and a bench when a bright light filled the screen and the footage cut out.

Russia's Investigative Committee, which probes serious crimes, said the bodies of two men with multiple injuries had been discovered on Thursday outside a multi-storey building and that criminal cases investigating murder and the illegal possession of explosives had been opened.

Stavropol Region Governor Vladimir Vladimirov and other officials offered their condolences to Gurtsiev and his family.