Wednesday, February 8 2006 15:25 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Moscow: At least 13 people were killed and 22 injured when a blast ripped through a Russian military base in Chechnya.

According to state-run Russia TV channel, the blast occurred late last night blast in the barrack of army Battalion 'East' in the township of Kurchaloi southeast of Grozny, probably due to a gas leak in the basement of the building.

The brick building has been totally destroyed and forensic experts are working on site.

"The blast was probably caused by a gas leakage, but we are looking into all probabilities including a terror act," Chechen Republic's prosecutor Valery Kuznetsov told the Russian channel.

Due to absence of gas for few days in the main building, cylinders were being used in the basement of the barracks for heating.

However, with the abrupt resumption of gas supplies the high pressure in the equipment could have caused the leakage resulting in the blast, NTV channel added.