At least 39 dead in blast on Moscow metro

As Russia reeled under the metro blast killing 39 people and injuring over 120 others, President Vladimir Putin blamed ousted Chechen separa...

As Russia reeled under the metro blast killing 39 people and injuring over 120 others, President Vladimir Putin blamed ousted Chechen separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov for Friday’s suicide bombing and called for a united fight against terrorism.

‘‘We need no direct evidence or confirmation. We know for certain that Maskhadov and his bandits are connected with this terrorist attack,’’ Putin said while commenting on the blast. He added that it was not a coincidence that calls made in foreign countries for starting talks with the terrorists and bomb attack today occurred simultaneously.

‘‘There have been more calls made outside Russia for some talks with Maskhadov. This is not the first instance crimes committed in Russia and calls for talks are synchronised,’’ Putin stressed. At talks with his Azerbaijani President I. Aliyev, currently on a visit to Moscow, he called for united efforts to overcome terrorism, the ‘‘plague of the 21st century’’.

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‘‘Only through united efforts, can we overcome terrorism,’’ Putin declared. ‘‘If we will unite our efforts on bilateral level in Caucasus as a whole and on international level, I have no doubt that we will be successful in this struggle,’’ he said. Friday’s suicide blast occurred in the second car of a metro train, in the early rush hours, after it pulled away from Avtozavdskaya to Paveletskaya station on the crowded circle line, in southern Moscow. ‘‘From what we have found so far we can say about 30 people have been killed and 100 injured,’’ an Emergency Ministry spokeswoman said. Rescued travellers said the explosion blew out carriage windows and started a fire. One woman said survivors walked about a mile along the tracks to safety.

The Stalin-era underground system, the pride of Muscovites for its clean marble tunnels and efficiency, is also one of the world’s deepest.

US President George W. Bush and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan condemned the attack as a dastardly act of terror.

A spokesman for Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said that a terrorist act was the ‘‘main version’’ of the blast on which the special services were working on. A joint headquarters consisting of the representatives of FSB, Interior Ministry and the Prosecutor’s General Office, has been set up to investigate the cause of the blast. Russian TV stations reported that law enforcement agencies were looking for a Caucasian man.

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The blast coming as it does ahead of the March presidential elections, has alarmed Russian authorities. Special services fear that more suicide bombings may take place during the campaign to disrupt the elections.

Last December, shortly after the State Duma elections, a suspected Chechen woman suicide bomber killed six people in central Moscow. (With agencies)

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