Police hunt Moscow train bombers

A Russian man lays flowers on the platform of the Avtozavodskaya metro station in Moscow yesterday a day after a bomb blast in the metro killed at least 39 people and injured more than 130. Ordinary Muscovites placed roses and carnations on the platform of the station where the train took off the previous morning, crowded with commuters.. PHOTO: AFP

Ordinary Muscovites placed roses and carnations on the platform of the station from where a train took off the previous morning, crowded with commuters.

Seconds later, as it sped through the darkened tunnel, a powerful blast ripped through its second car, ripping off its roof, blowing out windows and denting the sturdy structure like a can.

Tap Here to Add The Daily Star As A Trusted Source

At least 39 people died and more than 130 were injured as a result of the blast, with officials warning the toll could rise as many inside were literally blown to bits and it would take time to identify their remains.

"I cry for the dead but life goes on," said Irina Borisova as she waited for a train at the station.

Some 105 of the injured remained in hospital Saturday, Interfax reported. Security in the 170 stations of the Moscow subway was tightened, with extra police and troop patrols.

Suspicion for the blast, condemned by the international community, focused on rebels from Chechnya, where separatists have fought Russian troops for more than four years.

Russian President Vladimir Putin led the charge when he blamed former Chechen president and rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov for the increasing attacks outside the Caucasus republic during the past year.

"We know for certain, that Maskhadov and his people are linked to this terror," Putin said after the blast that came five weeks before the Russian leader who launched the current war in Chechnya stands for reelection.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack and a spokesman for Maskhadov denied any involvement.

"It is clear that the Chechens are linked to this blast," said Pyotr Egushin in the train station on Saturday. "We have to establish a border with Chechnya and isolate this this dangerous republic."

Attacks attributed to Chechen rebels have increased in frequency during the past year and on Saturday Putin's alma mater FSB (ex-KGB) faced criticism that it is not doing enough to prevent them.

"The FSB knew that the metro was vulnerable," wrote the Izvestia daily. "About two months ago, a top FSB official admitted privately that the security services were waiting with fear and surprise when the terrorists would strike inside the metro."

"Much of the fault lies with the FSB," a deputy head of the State Duma's security committee Gennady Gudkov told Gazeta.ru. "It was the FSB that missed the information about the terrorists."

Since Putin, a former KGB agent, was elected president in March 2000, security services officials have assumed more and more top posts in government.