Russian President Mr Vladimir Putin has cancelled a planned trip to Uzbekistan and Malaysia because of suicide bomber attacks on a Moscow rock festival that killed 15 people, the Kremlin said today.
The Kremlin did not elaborate on Mr Putin's reasons for stopping the trip, which was to have begun today. But the decision could reflect both concern about how to prevent further terrorist assaults on the capital and lingering sensitivity to previous criticisms that the Russian leader is cold and distant in times of public crisis.
Two victims of the suicide blasts died overnight, bringing the death toll to 15 including the two women who detonated their strapped-on explosives, a city health official said today.
Another 48 victims remained in hospital today, including 11 who were in serious or critical condition, said Ms Lyuba Zhomova, a spokeswoman for the Moscow Health Directorate.
Russia's Interior Minister meanwhile promised increased security measures in the nervous city. The radio station Ekho Mosky reported that attendance at the city's annual outdoor beer festival appeared significantly lower early this afternoon than on the previous day.
The Saturday afternoon blasts at the festival at a suburban airfield sharply renewed the sense of vulnerability among the sprawling city's 10 million people, where Chechen rebels last year held hundreds of hostages at a theatre and a subway station bombing in 2000 killed 13 people.
No arrests have been made after the bombings and no one has yet claimed responsibility, but officials said a passport was found in the blood and debris showing that one of the bombers was a Chechen woman.
Interior Minister Mr Boris Gryzlov late yesterday issued an order for increasing security, including boosting police presence at hospitals, theatres and shopping centres.
Security will be stepped up substantially at mass gatherings, with metal detectors and dogs inspecting people who enter, according to the order.
"The Interior Ministry asks citizens to show patience and understanding of such necessary measures," the ministry said in a statement.
The first blast went off at one of the entrances to the festival at the Tushino airfield as the Russian band Crematorium played for a crowd estimated at up to 40,000. Another went off about 10 minutes later as spectators tried to leave by another gate.
Officials said the first bomber's device did not go off completely and that most of the casualties were caused by the second explosion.
Guards at the festival entrances were suspicious of the women and prevented them from entering the grounds, said First Deputy Interior Minister Mr Rashid Nurgaliyev.
"When they approached the entrance, their agitation was visible. They tried to get in too fast and were turned away," he said.
Mr Aslambek Maigov, the envoy of Chechen rebel president Mr Aslan Maskhadov, denied that Mr Maskhadov was connected to the bombings. But the Chechen rebels are deeply factionalized and only a small portion are believed to follow Mr Maskhadov's direction.
The attack came hours after Mr Putin signed an order setting presidential election in Chechnya for October 5th. The elections are the latest step in Putin's strategy of trying to bring a political resolution in the Caucasus republic even as fighting continues.
AP