Terror attack rocks Southern Russia

27 May, 2010, 01:11

An explosive device has detonated in the city of Stavropol in the south of Russia, killing seven and injuring about 40 more people.

The blast rocked the center of the city, not far from the Culture and Sport Palace, where a concert was due to take place.

“At 18:45 Moscow time (14:45 GMT) a bomb exploded on Lenin Street, near the city's community center,” said Interior Ministry deputy spokesperson Pavel Klimovsky. “Investigators and the emergency services are working at the scene. A number of people have been killed and injured. They have been taken to hospital. At the moment everything is being done to establish what kind of explosive was used and its exact position. It's believed to have been placed in a kiosk between a café and the city community center. Experts are collecting evidence for a criminal case.”

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Preliminary data from the investigation suggests that it was a homemade device which was triggered by either remote control or a timer.

In addition, the bomb was designed to cause as much damage as possible as it was inside a container filled with metal shrapnel.

A criminal investigation has been launched on charges of terrorism, murder and illegal circulation of explosives.

“We are working on establishing the identity of those behind the attack," said Vladimir Markin, spokesman for the Prosecutor's Office Investigative Committee. “Investigators have questioned more than 60 eyewitnesses. We have completed the identification of those who were killed. We are also examining objects taken from the scene of the explosion.”

Stavropol lies close to the volatile Caucasus region, but has rarely been the target of terror strikes in recent years. The region’s governor has called the incident an unprecedented act of provocation designed to destabilize the region.

Families of those killed will get about $22,000 in compensation each. People who suffered grave injuries will get about $9,500, while those with light injuries will receive about $5,000.

May 28 has been declared a day of mourning in the region.

Aleksey Pankin, a columnist for the Moscow Times newspaper, believes that investigators are looking into two versions – a terrorist act by Islamic extremists, or by local nationalist extremists.

“I suppose both versions are plausible. It seems to me at the first impression that the terrorist attack by the North Caucasian bandits is more plausible because it is kind of their way of doing things,” he said.

Nikolay Petrov from the Carnegie Moscow Center said that what is going on now is not only an escalation of terrorist attacks in the region, but an expansion of the region where previous attacks have taken place.