Breakaway South Ossetia’s long-time deputy defense minister, Ibragim Gasseev, survived an assassination attempt after an explosive device placed outside his home in Tskhinvali went off before dawn on Thursday, the breakaway region’s chief prosecutor said.

Chief prosecutor of the breakaway region, Merab Chigoev, told the local news agency, RES, that the explosive device was placed at a metal door of Gasseev’s flat in an apartment building.

No one was injured; there were Gasseev himself, as well as his daughter and mother in the flat at the time of explosion.

Chigoev said the investigation was looking into all the possible motives of the attack and did not rule out possibility that the attack was masterminded by “foreign states’ special services”.

“It is not ruled out that [the blast] is related to the fact that Gasseev, who is a graduate of military academy of the general staff of the Russian armed forces, is one of the well-trained South Ossetian military specialists. We deem it possible that he was deliberately targeted with assassination attempt by foreign special services. The investigation will of course pursue all the possible motives, including the one involving assassination attempt plotted by special services of foreign states,” Chigoev was quoted by RES.