Russia was still in shock yesterday, one day after a suicide bomber killed six people near the Kremlin walls in an attack authorities say may have been aimed at the nearby parliament.
Moscow police said they suspect the attack, which also injured 14 people and which took place two days after President Vladimir Putin's allies swept legislative elections, was set off by at least one female suicide bomber wearing a belt packed with explosives and ball bearings.
Her head was discovered lying on a busy sidewalk on Moscow's Mokhovaya street facing the Kremlin.
But Moscow mayor Yury Luzhkov said two women had carried out the attack.
In a speech at the Kremlin delivered shortly after the bombing at around 10:50am, Putin denounced terrorism, saying that Russia was waging a daily fight against terror, "including today."
The US, Israel, Italy, the Council of Europe and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan strongly condemned the attack.
Officials said the 14 wounded included several students from Moscow State University and that five people were in serious condition.
Witnesses described scenes of chaos breaking into the heart of Moscow at the start of a regular business day amid posh hotels, shops and government buildings.
"For five minutes [after the blast] it went all quiet as the bodies lay on the ground. Then police and ambulance cars arrived," said Vladimir Khomerkov, 45.
Luzhkov said the attack had been carried out by two female suicide bombers who had aimed to target the parliament building, situated a stone's throw from the site of the blast.
"We are already in a position now to give a fairly accurate picture of this terrorist act," Luzhkov was quoted as saying by news agencies, adding that a video-surveillance camera had recorded the moment of the blast.
The two women, one aged between 20 and 25, and the other around 40, asked a man for directions to the State Duma lower house of parliament, but got confused about the way, the mayor said.
"The women apparently didn't know Moscow at all. The young woman exploded the bomb device in her bag without getting as far as the Duma," he added.
The mayor said the suicide bomber was also wearing a belt packed with explosives, and the explosive device in her bag was packed with nails and metal pieces to multiply its devastating impact.
Luzhkov said the bombing bore a resemblance to the attack by two female suicide bombers who blew themselves up at an outdoor rock concert in July, killing 14 people and injuring some 50 more.
Moscow police said they were looking for a suspect who may have taken part in the attack and had the features of a person from the Caucasus -- the code used by authorities to indicate the bombing was carried out by Chechen rebels.
RSS