Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, May 13, 2003
23 Confirmed Dead in Chechnya Explosion: Official
The death toll of Monday's terrorist attack in Chechnya reached 23 at 2:45 p.m. Moscow time (1045 GMT), Chechen Interior Minister Alu Alkhanov told Interfax on Monday.
The death toll of Monday's terrorist attack in Chechnya reached 23 at 2:45 p.m. Moscow time (1045 GMT), Chechen Interior Minister Alu Alkhanov told Interfax on Monday.
The figure may rise again as the rescue work on the site near the administrative buildings of Znamenskoye village, in Nadterechny District, is underway, Alkhanov said.
Earlier, the Chechen Ministry for Civil Defense and Emergenciessaid the terrorist attack killed 30 people.
Znamenskoye's infrastructure suffered huge damages when a truckloaded with explosives blew up at 10 a.m. Moscow time (0600 GMT).
"Four apartment houses were totally destroyed, and another seven were severely damaged. The buildings of the administration and the local department of the Federal Security Service are about50 percent to 70 percent destroyed," Rudnik Dudayev, secretary of the Chechen Security Council, said earlier.
The Chechen authority is thoroughly investigating the attack, but no suspect has been identified yet, he said.
The security system of government buildings in Chechnya "may bechanged a great deal," but there are no plans to restrict traffic in region, he added.