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At least 20 killed in new bomb attack in Chechnya
A woman suicide bomber blew herself up in the middle of a Muslim religious festival in Russia's rebel Chechnya and officials said more than 20 people had been killed and scores wounded. The Kremlin's office on Chechnya and other officials said the latest attack, which followed a suicide bombing on Monday that killed 59 people, took place in mid-afternoon east of the regional capital, Grozny. "A woman terrorist blew herself up in a crowd of Muslim believers who had gathered for celebrations," a Chechen information department official, reached by telephone, told Reuters. "Most of the victims were elderly," the official said. The latest suicide attack came just two days after three suicide bombers drove a truck loaded with explosives into a government office complex in the north of the separatist-minded region. The two attacks took place just seven weeks after a Kremlin-organised constitutional referendum that anchored the rebellious Muslim region firmly in Russia.They voted and we lost. The people have spoken. Let the bombings commence! After Monday's bomb, President Vladimir Putin vowed to stick to his peace plan for the region to end nearly 10 years of armed conflict between separatist fighters and Russian forces that has cost thousands of lives.The latest attack came just as Putin was preparing for talks with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell on the U.S.-led war on terrorism, which Russia has backed. Colin's usual welcome when he goes near one of these hellholes. Local news agencies quoted Chechen administration officials as saying more than 20 people had been killed and scores wounded in the bombing in a small town called Iliskhan-Yurt, which is also known by its Russian name of Byelorechye. About 15,000 people had turned out for the celebrations in the town to mark the birthday of the prophet Mohammad. ...and what better way to celebrate it then with a suicide bombing. The Itar-Tass agency quoted police as saying that the head of the Chechen administration, Akhmad Kadyrov, had been present at the time and it could not be ruled out that the attack had been intended to kill him. Ya think? Officials said, however, that Kadyrov had not been hurt. Posted by: tu3031 2003-05-14 |
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