ShahnazZ
Striving2BeAStranger
And here we go...:angryred:
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/03/201032943641817269.html
Moscow metro blasts kill dozens
Russian officials said Monday's attacks were carried out by female suicide bombers [Reuters]
At least 38 people have been reported killed in twin explosions at stations on Moscow's metro rail network.
The first blast took place at the Lubyanka metro station in the centre of the city, followed by a second explosion at Park Kultury in the southwest of the city.
Moscow's chief prosecutor said the explosions were carried out by suicide bombers wearing explosive belts.
"We can assume that belts with explosive devices were attached to their bodies," Yuri Syomin told reporters at Lubyanka square.
"The scenario was similar at Park Kultury metro station."
Yuri Luzhkov, the mayor of Moscow, said that both attackers were female, while intelligence officials stated that they were likely from the country's restive North Caucasus region.
Russian news agencies said body parts suspected to come from the two women had been found at the two stations and had been sent for laboratory analysis.
Chechen threat
Speaking about the Lubyanka attack, Irina Andrianova, a spokewsoman for Russia's emergencies ministry, told the Itar-Tass news agency: "The blast hit the second carriage of a metro train that stopped at Lubyanka, at 0756 (0356GMT)."
The headquarters of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), successor to the Soviet-era KGB, is located just above Lubyanka station.
At least 12 people were reported to have been killed in the later blast at Park Kultury.
"It was very scary. I saw a dead body," said Valentin Popov, a 19-year-old student travelling on a train to Park Kultury.
"Everyone was screaming. There was a stampede at the doors. I saw one woman holding a child and pleading with people to let her through, but it was impossible."
In February, Doku Umarov, the leader of a Chechen separatist group, said in an interview on a rebel-affiliated website that "the zone of military operations will be extended to the territory of Russia".
Umarov, who claimed responsibility for the bombing of a passenger train travelling between Moscow and St Petersburg in November, warned that "the war is coming to their cities".
'Politically motivated'
"Both attacks took place on what is known as the Red Line, or line number one," Al Jazeera's Neave Barker, reporting from Moscow, said.
"This has to be seen as a politically motivated attack targeting what is perhaps one of the most symbolic signs of Russian authority in the capital when thousands of people are using one of the most heavily used metros in the world."
The Moscow metro system is one of the world's busiest, carrying around seven million passengers on an average workday.
Witnesses spoke of panic at the stations, with people falling over each other in dense smoke and dust as they tried to escape.
"I was moving up on the escalator when I heard a loud bang, a blast. A door near the passage way arched, was ripped out and a cloud of dust came down on the escalator," a witness called Alexei told the state-run Rossiya 24 news television channel.
"People started running, panicking, falling on each other."
Another witness at the Park Kultury station told RIA news agency: "People were yelling like hell.
"There was a lot of smoke and in about two minutes everything was covered in smoke," he said.
'Fighting terrorism'
Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president, on Monday pledged to fight terrorism "without hesitation".
The first blast took place close to the offices of the FSB security services [Reuters]
"The policy to suppress terrorism in our country and the fight with terrorism will be continued," Russian news agencies quoted Medvedev as telling an emergency meeting.
He also ordered that security be "significantly" strengthened on transport newtworks across the country.
Russian civil aviation authorities had already ordered increased security at airports after the explosions.
Separatist fighters from the North Caucasus region of the country have been blamed for previous explosions in Moscow and elsewhere in the country, however there was no immediate claim of responsibility for Monday's attack.
A suicide bombing on a metro train in February 2004, which killed at least 39 people and wounded more than 100 other, was attributed to Chechen fighters.
'Far from stable'
Alexander Pikayev, a Russian political and security analyst told Al Jazeera that more attacks were to be expected as the conflict with Chechen separatists was still unresolved.
"The situation is still far from stable. More attacks to be expected from the separatists," he said.
"We have seen in the past few years and since 2004 attacks, police have been less present in the streets and heavier in undergrounds station in a bid to downplay the separatists threat."
Pikayev said that the situation in remained tense in Chechnya despite the government's efforts to contain fighters there and in neighbouring republics.
"The government is trying to pour more money to create a better economic situation. Of course this will take years, meanwhile the situation will remain tight," he said.
Russian forces fought two war with Chechen separatists, but last year declared that the conflict was over.
However, the violence has spread from Chechnya to to the neighbouring regions of Dagestan and Ingushetia.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/03/201032943641817269.html
Moscow metro blasts kill dozens
Russian officials said Monday's attacks were carried out by female suicide bombers [Reuters]
At least 38 people have been reported killed in twin explosions at stations on Moscow's metro rail network.
The first blast took place at the Lubyanka metro station in the centre of the city, followed by a second explosion at Park Kultury in the southwest of the city.
Moscow's chief prosecutor said the explosions were carried out by suicide bombers wearing explosive belts.
"We can assume that belts with explosive devices were attached to their bodies," Yuri Syomin told reporters at Lubyanka square.
"The scenario was similar at Park Kultury metro station."
Yuri Luzhkov, the mayor of Moscow, said that both attackers were female, while intelligence officials stated that they were likely from the country's restive North Caucasus region.
Russian news agencies said body parts suspected to come from the two women had been found at the two stations and had been sent for laboratory analysis.
Chechen threat
Speaking about the Lubyanka attack, Irina Andrianova, a spokewsoman for Russia's emergencies ministry, told the Itar-Tass news agency: "The blast hit the second carriage of a metro train that stopped at Lubyanka, at 0756 (0356GMT)."
The headquarters of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), successor to the Soviet-era KGB, is located just above Lubyanka station.
At least 12 people were reported to have been killed in the later blast at Park Kultury.
"It was very scary. I saw a dead body," said Valentin Popov, a 19-year-old student travelling on a train to Park Kultury.
"Everyone was screaming. There was a stampede at the doors. I saw one woman holding a child and pleading with people to let her through, but it was impossible."
In February, Doku Umarov, the leader of a Chechen separatist group, said in an interview on a rebel-affiliated website that "the zone of military operations will be extended to the territory of Russia".
Umarov, who claimed responsibility for the bombing of a passenger train travelling between Moscow and St Petersburg in November, warned that "the war is coming to their cities".
'Politically motivated'
"Both attacks took place on what is known as the Red Line, or line number one," Al Jazeera's Neave Barker, reporting from Moscow, said.
"This has to be seen as a politically motivated attack targeting what is perhaps one of the most symbolic signs of Russian authority in the capital when thousands of people are using one of the most heavily used metros in the world."
The Moscow metro system is one of the world's busiest, carrying around seven million passengers on an average workday.
Witnesses spoke of panic at the stations, with people falling over each other in dense smoke and dust as they tried to escape.
"I was moving up on the escalator when I heard a loud bang, a blast. A door near the passage way arched, was ripped out and a cloud of dust came down on the escalator," a witness called Alexei told the state-run Rossiya 24 news television channel.
"People started running, panicking, falling on each other."
Another witness at the Park Kultury station told RIA news agency: "People were yelling like hell.
"There was a lot of smoke and in about two minutes everything was covered in smoke," he said.
'Fighting terrorism'
Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president, on Monday pledged to fight terrorism "without hesitation".
The first blast took place close to the offices of the FSB security services [Reuters]
"The policy to suppress terrorism in our country and the fight with terrorism will be continued," Russian news agencies quoted Medvedev as telling an emergency meeting.
He also ordered that security be "significantly" strengthened on transport newtworks across the country.
Russian civil aviation authorities had already ordered increased security at airports after the explosions.
Separatist fighters from the North Caucasus region of the country have been blamed for previous explosions in Moscow and elsewhere in the country, however there was no immediate claim of responsibility for Monday's attack.
A suicide bombing on a metro train in February 2004, which killed at least 39 people and wounded more than 100 other, was attributed to Chechen fighters.
'Far from stable'
Alexander Pikayev, a Russian political and security analyst told Al Jazeera that more attacks were to be expected as the conflict with Chechen separatists was still unresolved.
"The situation is still far from stable. More attacks to be expected from the separatists," he said.
"We have seen in the past few years and since 2004 attacks, police have been less present in the streets and heavier in undergrounds station in a bid to downplay the separatists threat."
Pikayev said that the situation in remained tense in Chechnya despite the government's efforts to contain fighters there and in neighbouring republics.
"The government is trying to pour more money to create a better economic situation. Of course this will take years, meanwhile the situation will remain tight," he said.
Russian forces fought two war with Chechen separatists, but last year declared that the conflict was over.
However, the violence has spread from Chechnya to to the neighbouring regions of Dagestan and Ingushetia.
