DUSHANBE, March 29, 2010, Asia-Plus — At least 41 people have been killed by two explosions, which hit the Moscow subway system at the peak of the morning rush hour, Russian media reported.
The first blast took place at the central Lubyanka station at about 07:56 pm and police say that according to the preliminary data, 26 people were killed and more than 10 others were wounded, Itar-Tass reported.
The second explosion occurred about 30 minutes later at the Park Kultury station, where 12 to 15 people were killed, Russia’s news agency Interax reported.
Moscow authorities have declared it a “terrorist” incident. Prosecutors in Moscow told Interfax that initial reports indicated both of the explosions were suicide bombings.
BBC News reports that no-one has yet claimed responsibility, but the explosions do appear to have been coordinated. BBC”s Rupert Wingfield Hayes in Moscow says suspicion is likely to fall on groups in the troubled North Caucasus region, where the authorities are fighting Islamist militants.
Russian forces have scored a series of successes against militants in recent weeks. In February, at least 20 insurgents were reportedly killed in an operation by Russian security forces in Ingushetia.
There was a major attack on the Moscow Metro in February 2004, when at least 39 people were killed by a bomb on a packed train as it approached the Paveletskaya Metro station. Six months later, a suicide bomber blew herself up outside a station, killing 10 people. Both attacks were blamed on Chechen rebels, who had targeted the capital in the past, BBC News reported.
