Russians say truck bomb found near Chechen capital

A truck carrying more than a ton of explosives was found near the Chechen capital, Grozny, a spokesman for the Federal Security Service said today, announcing that a major terrorist attack had been averted in the run-up to next week’s Victory in Europe holiday.

Major General Ilya Shabalkin, chief spokesman for the federal forces in the North Caucasus region, said the Kamaz truck contained about 2,640 pounds of explosives and that it was connected with a major attack allegedly planned by Chechen rebel warlord Shamil Basayev, Doku Umarov and Abdul-Khalim Sadulayev, the successor to slain rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov.

It was not clear when the truck was discovered.

Security services have been on watch for major terrorist attacks around the Victory in Europe day holiday on Monday celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Allied victory over the Nazis in Europe.

“The truck was fully prepared for a blast, the only thing left to do was to put a suicide-bomber behind the wheel and turn on the electric detonator,” Shabalkin was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.

He said two men who had driven the truck were detained and were being interrogated.

Russia’s Federal Security Service said today rebel leaders had planned attacks using poisons and toxic substances in large cities in the North Caucasus region, Interfax reported.

A specially equipped cache containing a cyanide-based substance was discovered during the course of combat in an unnamed settlement, Interfax said, citing a statement from the Federal Security Service’s press service.

Shabalkin said the cache had been found on the Chechen-Ingush border, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported.

The security service said a militant group operating in the Russian republic of Ingushetia, which borders Chechnya, had been involved in the planned attacks.

The leader of the group was a personal bodyguard of an “emissary” of international terrorists, Interfax said.