Two Suicide Bombers blow themselves up in Moscow Metro, killing at least 38

At least 37 people are reported killed in two explosions on the Metro system in Moscow, officials say.

At least 37 people are reported to have been killed in two explosions on the Metro system in central Moscow.

The first blast happened at the city's central Lubyanka station killing 25, reports quoting security sources said.

A second explosion less than an hour afterwards happened at the Park Kultury station killing 12, Russian news agency Tass reported.

Ten people were injured in the first blast and 12 in the second, Tass said, quoting police and officials.

An emergencies ministry spokeswoman said that at Lubyanka 14 people were killed in the train and 11 on the platform.

"The blast hit the second carriage of a metro train that stopped at Lubyanka, at 0756 (0356 GMT)," Irina Andrianova said.

"There was no fire. Rescuers of the Moscow emergencies department and firefighters are now working at the site," she added.

The headquarters of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), is located just above the station.

The second blast came about 40 minutes later, at 0838 (0438 GMT).

UPDATE:

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin vowed a fierce response Monday after two female suicide bombers blew themselves up in twin attacks on Moscow subway stations, killing at least 37 people and wounding 102. Officials blamed the carnage on rebels from the Caucasus region.

The blasts come six years after Caucasus Islamic separatists carried out a pair of deadly Moscow subway strikes and raise concerns that the war has once again come to Russia's capital, amid militants' warnings of a renewed determination to push their fight.

Chechen rebels claimed responsibility for a deadly bombing late last year on a passenger train en route from Moscow to St. Petersburg.

Putin, who built much of his political capital by directing a fierce war with Chechen separatists a decade ago, vowed Monday that "terrorists will be destroyed."

The first explosion took place just before 8 a.m. at the Lubyanka station in central Moscow. The station is underneath the building that houses the main offices of the Federal Security Service, or FSB, the KGB's main successor agency.

A second explosion hit the Park Kultury station about 45 minutes later.

"I heard a bang, turned my head and smoke was everywhere. People ran for the exits screaming," said 24-year-old Alexander Vakulov, who said he was on a train on the platform opposite the targeted train at Park Kultury.

"I saw a dead person for the first time in my life," said 19-year-old Valentin Popov, who had just arrived at the station from the opposite direction.

The iconic Moscow subway system is one of the world's busiest, carrying around 7 million passengers on an average workday, and is a key element in running the sprawling and traffic-choked city.

Russian TV showed amateur video from inside the Lubyanka station of wounded and possibly dead victims sitting and lying on the floor. The train platform was filled with smoke.

Outside both stations, passengers flooded out, many of them crying and making frantic calls on their cell phones. The wounded were loaded into ambulances and helicopters, some with their heads wrapped in bloody bandages, as sirens wailed.

The last confirmed terrorist attack in Moscow was in August 2004, when a suicide bomber blew herself up outside a city subway station, killing 10 people. Responsibility for that blast was claimed by Chechen rebels.

Russian police have killed several Islamic militant leaders in the North Caucasus recently, including one last week in the Kabardino-Balkariya region. The killing of Anzor Astemirov was mourned by contributors to two al-Qaida-affiliated Web sites.

The killings have raised fears of retaliatory strikes by the militants.

In February, Chechen rebel leader Doku Umarov warned in an interview on a rebel-affiliated Web site that "the zone of military operations will be extended to the territory of Russia … the war is coming to their cities."

Umarov also claimed his fighters were responsible for the November bombing of the Nevsky Express passenger train that killed 26 people en route from Moscow to St. Petersburg.

Emergency Minister Sergei Shoigu said the toll was 37 killed and 102 injured, but he did not give a breakdown of casualties at eachstation.

In a televised meeting with President Dmitry Medvedev, Federal Security Service head Alexander Bortnikov said body fragments of the two bombers pointed to a Caucasus connection. He did not elaborate.

"We will continue the fight against terrorism unswervingly and to the end," Medvedev said.

Neither he nor Putin, who was on an official trip in Siberia, announced specific measures and it was not clear if Russia has new strategies to unleash in the Caucasus, where violent separatism has spread from Chechnya into neighboring republics.

Although the Russian army battered Chechen rebels in massive assaults a decade ago, the separatists continue to move through the region's mountains and forests with comparative ease and launch frequent small attacks.

New York's transit system beefed up security as a precaution following the Moscow bombings. A spokesman for New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Kevin Ortiz, said the agency has a "heightened security presence," but declined further comment.

The agency is in charge of New York City buses and subways, as well as suburban trains, and bridges and tunnels.

Oh, yes, it's awful… Right now I've just called by phone to my sister who lives in Moscow in order to be sure that she's alright. Thanks God, she and her husband were at home when it happened. 

yes,today i've heard about it .... it's really awful…..... 

Hi,

I'm not agree with this  terroristic Action which kill a lot of innocent people.

God bless all innocent people who have been killed there.

regards

Sina, I guess you wanted to say "who have been killed".

According to mass media, the terroristic acts were committed by two women suicide attackers.

Hi,

How are you Dear MsX?

Thanks a millions for your kindness and correcting my sentence.

I need it badly.

hope I get more correcting comments on this site in future.

I love it so much.

have a nice time.

regards

Thank you too, Sina. I am fine and I hope that you are fine too. You are always welcome if you need any help. :)

Sad :'(

According to RIA Novosti, the number of hospitalized – victims of the terrorist attacks in the Moscow metro, which occurred on Monday morning is 73 people, said senior operations duty officer EMERCOM Pavel Kozlov.

"In the 15 hospitals in the capital as of 5:30 Moscow time on Tuesday 73 people were injured in the explosions in the Moscow subway. Total 85 people were hospitalized, of whom issued, 10; 2 people died ", – said the senior duty officer EMERCOM Pavel Kozlov. According to the latest information, died and another woman, so the number of victims of terrorist attacks rose to 39 people.

Muslim leaders have condemned Russia action of terrorists.

According to the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia Kirill: These people have no excuse to system of morality.