GROZNY, Russia (AP) — The regional leader of Chechnya says several police officers have been wounded during attacks by Islamist militants.

Ramzan Kadyrov said in a statement Monday that one militant launched a suicide attack in the regional capital Grozny, injuring several policemen. He said the attacker survived the explosion and was hospitalized.

Kadyrov said another attack in the southern town of Shali left two police officers injured.

The Kremlin has relied on Kadyrov to stabilize Chechnya after two separatist wars in the 1990s and has provided generous subsidies to help rebuild the region.

International human rights groups have accused Kadyrov of rampant abuses, including arbitrary arrests and extrajudicial killings by his feared security forces.

Radical Islamists, some of whom have sworn allegiance to the Islamic State group, still conduct sporadic raids in Chechnya.