Foreign Correspondence

[Amaunet]

Russia suspects terrorist attack at Moscow bus stop, two Russian airliners crash, not sure if they are related but they did occur during increased operations by Russia’s anti-terrorist squad leading up to Chechnya's presidential election.

-Am

Police suspect Moscow bus stop blast was terrorist attack

MOSCOW. Aug 24 (Interfax) - A senior police source said the bomb explosion at a bus stop in Moscow on Tuesday evening may have been a terrorist attack.

"The power of the explosive device was equivalent to more than 150 grams of trotyl [TNT]. The explosive device was stuffed with shrapnel," the source, who is an official with the city police authority, told Interfax.

He said the bomb went off at the moment when a bus was leaving the stop.

http://www.interfax.ru/e/B/0/28.html?id_issue=10696165



Two Russian Airliners Crash

Updated 6:23 PM ET August 24, 2004
By STEVE GUTTERMAN

MOSCOW (AP) - Two Russian airliners carrying a total of more than 100 people crashed almost simultaneously south of Moscow, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported Tuesday. There was no word on survivors.

The first plane was carrying 54 passengers and a crew of eight when it crashed in the Tula region near the village of Buchalki, the agency said, citing a duty officer at the regional center for civil defense and emergencies. The Tula region is about 110 miles south of Moscow.

The second plane was carrying 44 people when it crashed near Rostov, the agency said, citing an Inter-State Aviation Committee official. Rostov is about 600 miles south of Moscow.

Both planes were Tupolev Tu-154 jets, the standard medium-range airliner on domestic flights in Russia, other former Soviet states, Iran and parts of eastern Europe, according to the Web site Airliners.net.

In Washington, a senior U.S. State Department official said, "We are obviously concerned by the news. We're following developments closely and trying to determine the facts."



http://dailynews.att.net/cgi-bin/news?e=pri&dt=040824&cat=news&st=newsd84lrvt00&src=....




12 Chechnyan fighters killed, says Russia
By by Russian correspondent Emma Griffiths
Tuesday, August 24, 2004. 9:55pm (AEST)
Russian forces claim to have killed a dozen rebel fighters in the troubled republic of Chechnya.

The fighting is part of a security sweep ahead of presidential elections in the region on August 29.

Russia's anti-terrorist squad says it has increased its operations in the lead-up to the poll.

Its latest attack has targeted two areas just outside Chechnya's capital Grozny, where sustained shelling has killed 12 rebel fighters.

Last weekend, a gunfight in the capital reportedly killed dozens of people including federal troops.

There are fears rebels will strike again as Chechens vote for a new president.

The early elections have been forced by the assassination of Chechnya's previous leader.

Akhmad Kadyrov was killed in a bomb blast nearly five months ago.

His replacement will be chosen this Sunday amid tightened identification checks and increased security at government buildings and polling stations.

Alu Alkhanov, Chechnya's current interior minister who has received the Kremlin's public support, was considered almost certain to win.

Russian troops entered Chechnya on October 1, 1999, the start of the second war there in a decade.

There are currently some 70,000 Russian soldiers based in the republic.

--ABC/AFP

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200408/s1184321.htm