New attack leaves at least 14 more dead in Chechnya

VLADIKAVKAZ, Russia -- A woman with explosives strapped to her waist blew them up in the midst of thousands of Muslim pilgrims Wednesday, killing herself and 13 others in an apparent attempt on the life of Chechnya's Moscow-backed administrator.

Akhmad Kadyrov escaped unharmed, but at least two of his bodyguards were among more than 100 people wounded in the second deadly bombing in the breakaway republic this week.

On Monday three suicide bombers detonated a truck loaded with explosives outside a government compound in northern Chechnya. The death toll in that attack rose to 59 Wednesday when four more of the injured died. The Russian government blamed Chechen rebels.

Kadyrov criticized the lax security in the republic after Monday's attack and urged Russian forces to turn over the hunt for rebels to Chechen security agencies.

Wednesday's bomber was identified as a 46-year-old woman whose husband was allegedly shot to death in 1999. Details of his death -- whether it was connected with clashes between Russian troops and Chechen separatists -- could not be immediately determined, and the motive for the attack remained unclear.

But officials said she was not alone. A second woman in the crowd was also wearing explosives but she died without detonating her charge, Russia's state-controlled Channel One said.

The attacks highlight the violence that continues in Chechnya, despite Kremlin claims that the small southern republic is stabilizing and on the path to peace.

"These terror attacks in Chechnya will not thwart the efforts of the Russian leadership to reach a political settlement in Chechnya," Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said Wednesday, standing alongside visiting Secretary of State Colin Powell.

The Kremlin has portrayed its 3 1/2-year war in Chechnya as part of the international campaign against terror and has accused foreign terrorist groups of funding rebel attacks and training.

The bombing occurred in Iliskhan-Yurt, a village about 15 miles southeast of the capital, Grozny, where about 10,000 people had gathered Wednesday to mark the birthday of Islam's prophet, Muhammad.

Russia's deputy prosecutor, Gen. Sergei Fridinsky, said it was to soon to say the target was Kadyrov, who is hated by rebels for his cooperation with Moscow.

But Russian media left little doubt that was the case, reporting that the women posed as journalists to get closer to Kadyrov.

The two women were less than 65 feet from him at the time of the blast, shortly after Kadyrov finished a prayer service.

"When Kadyrov finished a prayer and people just stood talking, a woman quietly approached the group. An explosion ripped through the air," Akhmad Abastov, the chief of the Gudermes district was quoted as telling the Interfax news agency.

Russian television showed clothes and belongings scattered on a hillside, where bodies lay covered with white sheets. A pair of shoes and a small briefcase lay discarded.

Maj. General Ruslan Avtayev, head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations in Chechnya, said 14 people were killed, including the two women and two of Kadyrov's bodyguards. The ITAR-Tass news agency reported that five of Kadyrov's bodyguards were killed.

Avtayev said 145 people were injured, with 45 hospitalized with serious injuries. Many of the victims were elderly.

Chechen Prosecutor Vladimir Kravchenko said authorities also found a land mine planted on the route that Kadyrov's motorcade would have traveled after leaving Wednesday's religious ceremony. In January, police found a land mine planted ahead of Kadyrov's motorcade, but were able to stop Kadyrov in time.

The outgunned and outnumbered rebels target not only federal forces but also Chechens who they view as cooperating with Moscow. Ethnic Chechen police are killed daily, and Chechen administrators routinely travel in heavily armed convoys on roads swept first for land mines.

Russian forces pulled out of Chechnya in 1996 after rebels fought them to a standstill in a 20-month conflict. Troops returned in September 1999 after Chechnya-based rebels mounted incursions into neighboring Dagestan and after about 300 people died in apartment explosions that Russian officials blamed on the rebels.

Iliskhan-Yurt is considered sacred to Caucasus Mountain Muslims as the birthplace of three respected 19th century sheiks and the possible burial site of a descendent of Muhammad.