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CNN Live At Daybreak

36 Dead in Russian Blast

Aired December 05, 2003 - 06:33   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: A suicide bomber on a commuter train, the explosion so huge it blew passengers out of the train. This happened just hours ago in Russia, and the death toll continues to rise.
Our Moscow bureau chief, Jill Dougherty, is live to tell us more.

Hello -- Jill.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: Hello, Carol.

Well, the FSB -- that's basically the old KGB, kind of like the FBI -- is saying now, as it investigates, that they have found what they believe are the remains of a suicide bomber. They're not saying whether it's a male or a female, but it was located inside that second car. That is where the explosion went off.

And they also say they found some type of a bag, a suitcase perhaps, in which those explosive materials were kept.

It went off with deadly force. At latest count, 36 people killed, 127 in the hospital, and another 50 who were treated and released. That puts the figure well over 200 people affected by this terrorist attack, and that is what they are presuming that it is right now -- a terrorist attack timed to go off at a particularly vulnerable moment, during the rush hour, early in the morning, when people are going to work.

This was a commuter train traveling between two cities in the southern part of Russia near that breakaway Republic of Chechnya, which has seen so much terrorism.

Right now, there are operating theories. Why would it happen? Why now? And the government at this point is saying two days from now, as we know, there are going to be parliamentary elections here in Russia, and perhaps this was an attempt to disrupt those elections.

In any case, right now, there are still crews on the ground, trying to go over the debris, making sure there is nobody remaining there, and also taking care to find out precisely why this happened -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes, Jill, I don't know if you're aware of it, but this just crossed our wires here that Vladimir Putin says that this was an attempt to destabilize the political system in Russia, and that has been the thought all morning long, hasn't it? DOUGHERTY: It has. And you'd have to say that that was very -- it's a worrisome thing, because there has been concern that as these elections pick up speed -- you know, we're less than two days now before the election -- that there would be attacks.

And it's very sensitive, because the interior minister, who is the one who is going to be leading this investigation, happens to be the head of the political party that Vladimir Putin supports -- the pro-Kremlin Party. So, it makes it particularly sensitive right now that this could have happened at this particular time.

COSTELLO: Jill Dougherty live from Moscow this morning. Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.






Aired December 5, 2003 - 06:33   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: A suicide bomber on a commuter train, the explosion so huge it blew passengers out of the train. This happened just hours ago in Russia, and the death toll continues to rise.
Our Moscow bureau chief, Jill Dougherty, is live to tell us more.

Hello -- Jill.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: Hello, Carol.

Well, the FSB -- that's basically the old KGB, kind of like the FBI -- is saying now, as it investigates, that they have found what they believe are the remains of a suicide bomber. They're not saying whether it's a male or a female, but it was located inside that second car. That is where the explosion went off.

And they also say they found some type of a bag, a suitcase perhaps, in which those explosive materials were kept.

It went off with deadly force. At latest count, 36 people killed, 127 in the hospital, and another 50 who were treated and released. That puts the figure well over 200 people affected by this terrorist attack, and that is what they are presuming that it is right now -- a terrorist attack timed to go off at a particularly vulnerable moment, during the rush hour, early in the morning, when people are going to work.

This was a commuter train traveling between two cities in the southern part of Russia near that breakaway Republic of Chechnya, which has seen so much terrorism.

Right now, there are operating theories. Why would it happen? Why now? And the government at this point is saying two days from now, as we know, there are going to be parliamentary elections here in Russia, and perhaps this was an attempt to disrupt those elections.

In any case, right now, there are still crews on the ground, trying to go over the debris, making sure there is nobody remaining there, and also taking care to find out precisely why this happened -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes, Jill, I don't know if you're aware of it, but this just crossed our wires here that Vladimir Putin says that this was an attempt to destabilize the political system in Russia, and that has been the thought all morning long, hasn't it? DOUGHERTY: It has. And you'd have to say that that was very -- it's a worrisome thing, because there has been concern that as these elections pick up speed -- you know, we're less than two days now before the election -- that there would be attacks.

And it's very sensitive, because the interior minister, who is the one who is going to be leading this investigation, happens to be the head of the political party that Vladimir Putin supports -- the pro-Kremlin Party. So, it makes it particularly sensitive right now that this could have happened at this particular time.

COSTELLO: Jill Dougherty live from Moscow this morning. Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.