A senior official in the Georgian breakaway republic of South Ossetia died on Sunday evening in an explosion outside his home.

Officials say security council secretary Oleg Alborov was killed when an explosive device went off as he opened his garage door. South Ossetia's foreign ministry says Alborov was assassinated by Georgian secret services in bids by the capital, Tbilisi, to eliminate the breakaway republic's leadership. South Ossetia has called on the international community to recognise independence from Georgia, after war between the two in the early 1990s. Tbilisi says the republic is an integral part of Georgia. Officials deny a Georgian role in Alborov's death.