Blast derails Moscow-bound train
A Russian passenger train travelling from the Chechen capital to Moscow has been derailed by an explosion, according to the Interfax news agency.
Emergencies Ministry spokesman Viktor Beltsov said two carriages went off the track about 150km from Moscow, causing injury to about 10 passengers – two of whom needed hospital treatment.
“The train driver said that the explosion took place in front of the engine,” Beltsov said, adding that the bomb had left a one-metre deep crater.
Earlier reports had said some passengers heard a loud bang before the derailment.
Mainly Muslim Chechnya has been devastated by conflict for more than a decade, and fighting between Russian troops and Chechen separatist rebels are daily events.
Russia says it is stabilising the region but still maintains nearly 100,000 troops in Chechnya.