Moscow mourns subway suicide bomb victims

Moscow, Russia (News Terupdate) - Moscow paused to mourn its dead Tuesday, a day after suicide bombers struck a pair of subway stations in a deadly rush-hour attack.

Flags across the city were lowered to half staff as hundreds of thousands of commuters returned to the transit system where the bombings had claimed dozens of casualties. Authorities said the attacks have killed at least 39 people -- an increase of one since Monday -- and wounded more than 60 others.

Television stations canceled entertainment programs for the day, while some also pulled commercials.

After being closed most of the day, both stations reopened around 5 p.m. Monday, said Veronica Molskaya, a spokeswoman for the Russian Emergencies Ministry.

Russian investigators think Chechen rebels may have been behind the deadly strike.

"Our preliminary assessment is that this act of terror was committed by a terrorist group from the North Caucasus region," said Alexander Bortnikov of the Federal Security Service, in reference to the investigation at one of the blast sites.

Although nobody has claimed responsibility for the attacks, Bortnikov's statement is a strong implication that Chechen rebels fighting for independence were behind the strike.

The Russia-Chechnya conflict dates back nearly 20 years, with Chechens having laid claim to land in the Caucasus Mountains region. Thousands have been killed and 500,000 Chechen people have been displaced from the fighting. The area is located in the North Caucasus region of Russia between the Black and Caspian seas.

Read how Chechen rebels threaten Russian stability

Monday's blasts tore through the Lubyanka and Park Kultury stations in central Moscow -- the female bombers detonating their explosives about 40 minutes apart, starting just before 8 a.m. (0400 GMT).

In St. Petersburg -- about 650 km (400 miles) northwest of the Russian capital -- three metro stations were shut as the result of a bomb scare after the Moscow blasts.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said the "terrorists" responsible for the Moscow subway attacks "will be destroyed."

"I am sure that law enforcement agencies will do everything to find and punish the criminals," said Putin, who called for helping the families of the victims and bolstering transportation safety.

Millions of commuters use the Moscow metro system each day. An estimated 500,000 people were riding trains throughout the capital at the time of the attacks. It was unclear when the system would return to normal service and the incident generated fear among commuters.

The attacks reverberated across the globe.

U.S. President Barack Obama condemned the "outrageous acts" and passed along his condolences.

"The American people stand united with the people of Russia in opposition to violent extremism and heinous terrorist attacks that demonstrate such disregard for human life," Obama said.

The federal Transportation Security Administration said there is "no specific or credible information indicating an imminent or current threat to U.S. transportation systems," even though some local authorities have decided to beef up security measures in some cities.

Source : CNN

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