40 people killed in suicide bombing on commuter train
President Vladimir Putin said the bomb was intended to disrupt this weekend's parliamentary elections.
Authorities said a man triggered the shrapnel-filled bomb and three women also were involved in the attack. Two of the women jumped from the train before the rush-hour blast and a third was gravely injured and unlikely to survive, the head of the Federal Security Service said.
A Chechen rebel leader denied any responsibility for the blast, the second fatal attack on the rail line near the war-torn region since September. The 8am explosion ripped open the side of the second car of the train as it approached a station near Yessentuki, about 750 miles south of Moscow, throwing out passengers. Others were trapped under twisted, burning wreckage.
At least 148 wounded were hospitalised, and another 29 suffered only slight injuries, said Major General Nikolai Lityuk of the Emergency Situations Ministry.
Authorities found undetonated grenades still strapped to the legs of a male suicide attacker, said Federal Security Service chief Nikolai Patrushev. Bomb disposal experts gingerly entered the wreckage to remove the explosives and later detonated them, Russian television reported.
Mr Patrushev said two women jumped from the train just before the explosion; their fate was not known. The male suicide bomber has not been identified. They also found the remnants of a bag believed to have carried the bomb, the security agency said. The device was estimated to have the force of 22 pounds of TNT, said Vladimir Rudyak, a spokesman for the local prosecutor's office.
Galina Fedosova, deputy health minister in the Stavropol region, said 40 people were killed 34 died at the scene and six in hospitals. It was not known if the toll included the male attacker.
Mr Patrushev told Mr Putin that authorities suspect that accomplices may have been watching from autos near the attack site.
Putin called the attack "an attempt to destabilise the situation in the country on the eve of parliamentary elections" tomorrow. "The international terrorism that has challenged many countries continues to represent a serious threat for our country," said Mr Putin said. "It is a ruthless, serious, treacherous enemy. Innocent people suffer from their activity."
Although Mr Putin didn't identify who he believed was responsible, he was "sure they won't succeed".
Representatives of Aslan Maskhadov, a rebel leader and former Chechen president who considers himself the rightful head of the region, denied responsibility for the explosion in a statement distributed to news media. "We repeat that the Chechen government is guided by the principles of international humanitarian law," the statement said.
Q: What is the Chechen conflict all about?
A: Chechnya declared independence from Russia in November 1991. In 1994 Boris Yeltsin sent in troops to restore Moscow's authority. That first Chechen war ended in defeat for the Russian forces in 1996.
Q: What happened next?
A: On October 1, 1999, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (later president), launched an 'anti-terrorist operation'. This was triggered by a wave of apartment block bombings in Russia which he blamed on Chechens.
Earlier in 1999, Chechens took part in an armed attempt to establish an Islamic state in neighbouring Dagestan.
Q: What do the Chechens want?
A: The general populace: want peace and stability rebel fighters: want independence, or even self-rule and they almost got it after 1996.
Chechens elected their own president in January 1997 - Aslan Maskhadov, a former Russian artillery officer and the main rebel military commander during the war.
In a deal with Moscow, a decision on Chechnya's final political status was delayed for five years.
Maskhadov couldn't control his more radical field commanders so the republic descended into anarchy.
Q: What is Chechnya now?
A: In March 2003 a new constitution through referendum by the Kremlin gave Chechnya more autonomy. But it remains firmly a part of Russia.
In October 2003 pro-Moscow Akhmad Kadyrov, was elected president.
In October 2002 Chechen fighters took hundreds hostage in a Moscow theatre. Since then suicide bomb attacks have been made against Russian targets.
There are also daily attacks on Russian troops in Chechnya and Chechens men continue to disappear as a result of Russian security operations.
Q: Are there any prospects for peace?
A: It appears that Russia is not willing to talk to anyone from the 'rebel' side. And since the September 11 attacks on the US, there has been very little diplomatic pressure on Russia to seek a negotiated solution.
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