The death toll from a suicide attack on the pro-Russian government's building in Chechnya rose to 49 today.
All the victims of yesterday's bombings, including 10 children and 15 women, have been identified.
However, with more than 110 people injured, 57 in a critical condition, the death toll in the blast in Znamenskoye, 15 kilometres north of the Chechen capital Grozny, may rise.
The bombing is one of the deadliest single attacks since conflict between the rebels and federal troops broke out in October 1999.
The blast ripped through the building after a truck packed with one tonne of explosives crashed through the gates surrounding the government complex, leaving a crater around 15 metres wide and five metres deep.
Separatist rebels have vowed to step up attacks to disrupt the results of the March 23rd referendum that sealed Chechnya's place in the Russian Federation, but rebel president Aslan Maskhadov's spokesman denied responsibility for the Znamenskoye blast.
AFP