Russian police release sketches of bombing suspects

Police have released sketches of six suspects after bombings in southern Russia claimed at least 21 lives.

Three cars bombs exploded almost simultaneously in three towns near Chechnya.

More than 100 people were injured in the blasts.

"The composite drawings of the suspects were made and have been posted near markets and shops in the Northern Caucasus," said Colonel Viktor Shkareda, a spokesman for the regional Emergency Situations Ministry.

The sketches have been broadcast on Russian television news shows and police have set up special hotline telephone numbers to call if the suspects are spotted.

The worst blast was on Saturday morning near a bustling farmer's market in the city of Mineralnye Vody.

Colonel Alexander Lemeshev, duty officer for the Emergency Situations Ministry in the northern Caucasus, said 19 people were killed when a car bomb was detonated by remote control. Seventy victims remain in hospital, with eight in a critical condition.

At about the same time of the Mineralnye Vody blast, two Interior Ministry inspectors were killed in a car bomb explosion on a highway near the village of Adyge-Khabl in the Karachayevo-Cherkessia region.

A nearly simultaneous car bomb was detonated near the entrance to a police office in the nearby town of Yessentuki in the Stavropol region, injuring 13 people.

Russian officials have blamed Chechen rebels for the bombings, but no evidence has been offered. Rebel Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov has released a statement denying any role in the explosions.