Putin blames Chechens: Moscow metro blast kills 39

MOSCOW: A suspected suicide bomb ripped through a packed Moscow underground train in the early rush hour on Friday, killing at least 39 passengers and injuring more than 100.

Police attributed the blast, which blew out windows and ignited a fire, to a suicide bomber and President Vladimir Putin accused Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov of being behind the explosion. “We do not need any indirect confirmation. We know for certain that Mr Maskhadov and his bandits are linked to this terrorism,” he told reporters. But a spokesman for the fugitive separatist leader denied Mr Maskhadov’s involvement in what he described as “a bloody provocation” and condemned the explosion. —AFP

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