6 dead in passenger bus explosion on Grozny's street

2003-04-03

6 DEAD, 7 WOUNDED IN GROZNY TERROR ACT

MOSCOW, APRIL 3, RIA NOVOSTI - Six persons have been killed and seven wounded in an act of terrorism in the Chechen capital city of Grozny, Alexander Nikitin has told RIA Novosti by telephone. Nikitin is the deputy prosecutor of the Chechen Republic.

He said at 17:45, Moscow time, a PAZ passenger bus ran over an unidentified explosive device. The blast thundered on Sadovaya street in Grozny's Leninski district. Three passengers died on the spot and the other three en route to the hospital. Seven persons with wounds of various degrees of gravity were hospitalized.

A team of investigators is working on the site.

Death Toll from Bus Explosion in Chechnya Rises to 8

VOA News
03 Apr 2003

The death toll from a bus explosion in Grozny, the capital of the separatist Russian republic of Chechnya, has risen to eight people.

Emergency officials say Thursday's blast injured at least eight others. Chechen sources told the media the death toll might be much higher because relatives had taken some of the bodies straight home from the scene. Akhmad Kadyrov, Chechnya's pro-Moscow leader, immediately blamed the explosion on separatist guerilla fighters although there was no claim of responsibility for the attack. Mr. Kadyrov referred to those who carried out the attack as "thugs".

Emergency officials say the bus was blown up by a remote-control land mine hidden in trash on the side of the road. They say the bus, carrying civilian construction workers, came from Khankala, the Russian military's main base just outside the capital.

Chechnya's Deputy Prosecutor General said a criminal case has been opened and investigators were at the scene. Chechnya has enjoyed relative calm in recent weeks. Thursday's blast was the most serious attack since voters last month overwhelmingly approved a new Kremlin- backed constitution anchoring the region firmly within the Russian Federation.

It comes amid new efforts by pro-Moscow authorities to assure Chechens that stability and peace are on the way.

Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

Friday April 4, 2:21 AM

At least eight killed in Chechnya bus blast: report

At least eight people were killed and 10 others wounded when a blast tore through a passenger bus in the Chechen capital Grozny.

It was the first attack in the separatist Russian republic since a contentious referendum on a new constitution last month.

"There are at least eight dead, but the toll is not final, some of the wounded who could die have been taken home by their relatives," the official told an AFP correspondent in Nazran, neighbouring Ingushetia, by telephone.

"Around 10 others have been taken to hospital, some of them in serious condition," he said.

Akhmad Kadyrov, the republic's top administrator, immediately blamed the explosion on separatist guerrilla fighters although there was no
initial claim of responsibility for the attack.

"There were peaceful civilians on board the bus -- construction workers," he said. "This is the work of bandits."

An official with the emergencies ministry in Grozny told AFP an explosive device had been hidden in a pile of rubbish and went off as the bus was passing. The attack happened in the city's northern Leninsky region.

Six people died instantly, according to initial reports, with two others dying later in hospital.

The site of the blast, a street where several other bomb attacks have taken place, was cordoned off by security forces.

Footage on NTV television showed a small yellow bus with its entire right side smashed in from the explosion and the glass shattered. Inside, the floor was covered with blood and torn clothing.

NTV said the construction workers were returning from a job at the Russian military base of Khankala, in the northwestern suburbs of Grozny.

Separatists who opposed last month's referendum have said they would resume their attacks on Chechens working for the pro- Russian administration, whom they regard as "collaborators."