Attack injures Abkhazia PM

The prime minister of Georgia's breakaway Abkhazia region suffered minor injuries when a grenade hit his car Monday in what appeared to be the fourth apparent attempt on his life, officials said.

There was no word on suspects or a motive, but Alexander Ankvab has survived three previous assassination attempts since he took office early in 2005.

On Monday, he was in a car that came under fire while he was on his way to Sukhumi, the capital of the Black Sea province, Khetsiya said.

Ankvab said a grenade hit the car trunk, the Russian news agency Interfax reported. He said he had shrapnel wounds in his back and was shaken up by the blast, but that nobody was badly hurt, Interfax said.

A grenade launcher was apparently used in the attack, Khetsiya said. There was no word on suspects or a motive.

Abkhazia, a small, lush province on the Black Sea coast, has run its own affairs since breaking away from Georgian government control in a war in the early 1990s. It has support from Russia, but its sovereignty claim is not internationally recognized.