NYT/AP: Blast Derails Moscow-Bound Train

[DeepModem Mom]

Blast Derails Moscow-Bound Train
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: June 12, 2005
Filed at 9:13 a.m. ET


MOSCOW (AP) -- An explosion believed caused by a terrorist bomb derailed a train traveling from Chechnya to Moscow during Sunday's national holiday, injuring at least 15 people, officials said.

The blast occurred on the Day of Russia just hours before President Vladimir Putin held a reception and awards ceremony in the Kremlin. Many Chechen rebel attacks have been timed for significant Russian holidays.

A spokeswoman for the Federal Security Service, or FSB, said the train's driver reported an explosion on the tracks in front of the train shortly after 7 a.m., and a crater and wires were found at the site about 90 miles south of Moscow.

Deputy prosecutor general Nikolai Savchenko said a criminal case was opened on suspicion of terrorism and attempted murder, the Interfax news agency reported. He said investigators found signs of an explosion at the site, and FSB spokesman Nikolai Zakharov said investigators believe the blast was caused by a bomb containing the equivalent of more than 6 pounds of TNT.

FSB spokeswoman Diana Shemyakina said four cars of the train went off the tracks. Savchenko said 15 people were injured, Interfax reported. A conductor was hospitalized with a spinal injury that was not life-threatening, he said....


http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Russia-Train.html?