MOSCOW – Terror returned to the heart of Russia, with two deadly suicide bombings on the Moscow subway at rush hour, including an attack at the station beneath the headquarters of the secret police.
Russian police have killed several Islamic militant leaders in the North Caucasus recently, including one last week in the Kabardino-Balkariya region, which raised fears of retaliatory strikes and escalating bloodshed by the militants.
As smoke billowed through the subway tunnels not replica handbags far from the Kremlin and dazed survivors streamed out of the vast transportation system, al-Qaida-affiliated Web sites were abuzz with celebration of the attacks by the two female suicide bombers.
Militants in the Caucasus zhjchv0330 have declared the creation of an Islamic state as their top goal. Radical Islamic sects have spread throughout the Caucasus region and parts of Russia as well, with religious schools set up. In Chechnya, Kremlin-backed strongman Ramzan Kadyrov has conducted a campaign to impose Islamic values in an effort to blunt the appeal of hard-line Islamic separatists.
About 45 minutes later, a second blast hit the Park Kultury station on the same subway line, which is near renowned Gorky Park. In both cases, the bombs were detonated as the trains pulled into the stations and the doors were opening.
"Any desire to profit on the grief of others brings nothing but grief in return," Patriarch Kirill said after a liturgy.
Both stations had been scrubbed clean. Holes left by shrapnel in the granite were the only reminder of the day's tragic bombings.
In February 2004, a suicide bomber from the North Caucasus attacked a subway train during the morning rush hour, killing more than 40 people and wounding more than 100.
While the Russian army battered Chechen rebels a decade ago, the separatists continue to move through the region's mountains and forests with comparative ease despite security sweeps by federal forces and police under the control of local leaders loyal to the Kremlin.
Rights groups say that abductions, torture Replica Mobile Phones and killings of young men suspected of militant links by Russian security forces have helped swell the rebels' ranks.
New York increased security in its transportation network with officers assigned to subways overnight held in place so they overlapped with the day tour. Special units also were assigned to transit facilities. Washington, D.C., Metro police conducted random inspections of stations and rail yards. Atlanta's public transit system said its police department was increasing the number of officers and patrols in the system.
