DATE=8/31/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA EXPLOSION (L)
NUMBER=2-253310
BYLINE=PETER HEINLEIN
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
//English: cut reference in tape to bomb size - graf
3 of text //
INTRO: A bomb has ripped through a crowded
underground shopping mall in Moscow, within 200 meters
of the Kremlin. V-O-A Moscow correspondent Peter
Heinlein reports at least 29 people were injured, some
seriously.
TEXT: The blast tore through a video arcade Tuesday
evening at Moscow's Manezh mall, a showcase multi-
level shopping center built two years ago to celebrate
the city's 850th anniversary. The force of the blast
blew out windows and filled nearby shops with smoke.
Twenty ambulances were dispatched to the scene to rush
the wounded to hospitals. The video arcade and two
nearby restaurants are favorite youth hangouts, and
most of the injured were said to be in their teens and
twenties.
Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov described the incident as a
terrorist act, and called it "inhuman" to plant a bomb
at a place where children gather.
The mayor told reporters there was no immediate
information about who might have planted the device.
But he admitted his first thoughts were of an attack
by Muslim separatists in the northern Caucasus region.
///LUZHKOV ACT IN RUSSIAN, THEN FADE TO...///
He says "I would not link it immediately to any
event, although it prompts all sorts of associations
with the situation in Dagestan and the defeat of the
Chechens. But, he cautioned, "we have to have solid
grounds to make any accusations".
The Mayor said investigators would work overnight to
determine the type of device used in the blast.
The Interfax news agency quoted police officials as
saying security at the Kremlin, less than 200 meters
away had been tightened within 10 minutes after the
blast. The officials say Interior Ministry and police
patrols were also stationed on Red Square. (signed)
NEB/PFH/JO
31-Aug-1999 17:52 PM EDT (31-Aug-1999 2152 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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