Suspected Suicide Train Bomb Kills 36 in Russia

Reuters | 12/05/03

[kattracks]

Dec. 5 — MOSCOW (Reuters) - An explosion tore through a morning commuter train near Russia's volatile Chechnya region on Friday, two days before a parliamentary election, killing 36 people and authorities suspected a suicide bomb attack. Interior Minister Boris Gryzlov, head of the party backed by President Vladimir Putin in Sunday's polls, vowed to track down the perpetrators, saying: "The ground will burn under their feet." The Emergencies Ministry said 36 people were killed and more than 150 injured in the blast, which went off before 8 a.m. as the packed train was just outside Yessentuki station in Russia's southern fringe.

Both the FSB and the Interior Ministry said a woman appeared to have detonated the explosion which sliced the train's second carriage in two.

"We believe the explosion was carried out by a woman," a spokeswoman for the agency said by telephone.

Rossiya state television showed the carriage reduced to a mass of twisted metal and overhead power lines damaged, though the train remained upright on the track.

"The train was moving and then there was an explosion with smoke and ash about," witness Gleb Kovalenko told Rossiya. "It happened inside the carriage."

Television said reports from the scene spoke of two women carrying an explosive device in a bag packed with bolts and other metal objects.

A large planeload of rescue workers and equipment was on its way from Moscow to help teams at the site.

The blast took place in Stavropol region to the north of Chechnya, where separatists have been battling Russian forces for more than a decade. It was the second such attack in three months on the same line linking spa towns.

The most extreme wing of Chechen separatists has resorted to suicide bombings generally carried out by women. Dozens of people have died in attacks both in Chechnya and elsewhere in Russia.

Gryzlov, quoted by Interfax news agency, said: "We will find those who did this. The ground will burn under their feet. These animals will never be able to feel safe."

The December 7 election is expected to increase support for political allies of Putin, who has taken a hard line against Chechen separatism.

In September, an explosion ripped through an early morning commuter train in Stavropol region, killing six people, but police said at the time this was not the work of Chechen rebels.

[Savage Beast]

Everywhere Islam goes, violence follows. I wonder why.

[Mr.Atos]

And everytime Islam attacks, the press provides cover. Reuters and AP be damned. 'Rebels' indeed. They make it sound as if Hans Solo and Chewbaca just killed a few more Stoomtroopers. There are 42+ innocent human beings that won't be coming home tonight... shredded by shrapnel laced no doubt with poison... because of the fanatic insanity of Islamic terrorists.