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Women bombers kill 38 in Moscow metro

MOSCOW – Two female suicide bombers killed at least 38 people on packed Moscow metro trains on Monday, stirring fears of a broader campaign in Russia’s heartland by militants from the North Caucasus.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who cemented his power in 1999 by launching a war to crush Chechen separatism, broke off a trip to Siberia, declaring “terrorists will be destroyed”.

Witnesses described panic at two central Moscow stations after the blasts, with morning commuters falling over each other in dense smoke and dust as they tried to escape the worst attack on the Russian capital in six years.

At least 72 others were injured, many gravely, and officials said the death toll could rise. Russia’s top security official said the bombs were filled with bolts and iron rods.

No group immediately claimed responsibility, but Federal Security Service (FSB) chief Alexander Bortnikov said those responsible had links to the North Caucasus, a heavily Muslim region plagued by insurgency whose leaders have threatened to attack cities and energy pipelines elsewhere in Russia.