CHECHNYA: Bomb blast kills 20 in village festive crowd

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Att.Editors: The following item is from the Qatar News Agency (QNA)

MOSCOW, May 14 2003 (IPS) - Over 20 people died and tens of others were injured as a result of Wednesday’s explosion during a religious holiday near the village of Belorechye, the Gudermes district of Chechnya, reported the Itar-Tass news agency today.

The bomb went off in a crowd of 15,000, sources at the Chechen administration told Itar-Tass news agency.

According to Chechen prime minister’s adviser Alexey Vasin, a woman attacker exploded herself in a crowd during a religious holiday in the village of Iliskhan-Yurt, Gudermes district.

The Chechen Interior Ministry does not rule out the attack was against the head of the Chechen administration Akhmat Kadyrov, who attended the event. Kadyrov was not hurt.