Russian authorities have reportedly foiled a plot to kill the Kremlin-backed leader of Russia's North Caucasus region of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov.
The independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta quoted sources on October 3 as saying dozens of young Chechens had been arrested over the alleged assassination attempt in spring.
They are suspected of placing an explosive device in a house in the village of Benoi where Kadyrov planned to stay.
According to the newspaper, the plot was revealed accidentally.
Kadyrov's press secretary, Alvi Karimov, rejected the report.
There had been several reports in the past alleging that some groups in Chechnya planned to assassinate Kadyrov. In 2010, a group of armed people attacked Kadyrov's native village of Tsentoroi.