A South Ossetian militiaman by the name of Mairbek Khuriev died and two others were badly injured in a bomb attack in Tskhinvali on December 16, the South Ossetian Press and Information Committee reported.

According to the report, the three men were sitting in a car when an explosive detonated by remote-control went off.

The South Ossetian side described the incident as “a terrorist act” and accused Tbilisi of being behind it. According to South Ossetian reports, the two militiamen injured in the blast were Erik Dudaev and Felix Bolatayev. The South Ossetian Press and Information Committee said that Dudaev was the probable target.

The Georgian State Ministry for Conflict Resolution Issues, however, denied Georgian involvement, and instead claimed the incident was part of a criminal feud. “Blaming the Georgian side is an attempt to mislead the international community,” it said in a statement.

The Georgian side has also complained that neither the OSCE nor the Joint Peacekeeping Forces were allowed to inspect the crime scene.