07 February 2004	Saturday	15 Zilhaj 1424

MOSCOW, Feb 6: A massive bomb tore through a crowded Moscow subway during morning rush hour on Friday, killing at least 39 people and injuring more than 130 in a suspected suicide attack Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed on Chechen rebels.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing, but Putin pointed towards Chechen separatists and vowed not to negotiate with "terrorists," who have stepped up their attacks outside the Caucasus republic during the past year.

A spokesman for top Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov however denied any involvement in the blast, saying they did not use "terrorist methods." Witnesses spoke of carnage after the suspected suicide bomb hit the train near central Moscow, creating havoc outside one of the stations as distraught parents searched for their children.

"My daughter is in there," a woman in her 50s, shouted over and over as tears streamed down her face. "We saw them carrying bodies and injured covered in blood," said Lena, who works in a food shop 100 meters from the station.

News reports said that at least 39 people had died, including one child, and more than 130 were injured, as a result of the blast that went off at 8.40am

The attack - which comes just five weeks before Putin stands for re-election - brought swift international condemnation, as Russians denounced lax security for having failed to prevent it.

"Once more (the authorities) have not ensured security," 56-year-old Vyacheslav said outside the station as he looked for his wife.

A senior official in the Moscow prosecutor's office said that "it is premature to speak about a final figure because we have found lots of body fragments." -AFP