Cache of Suicide Belts Found Outside Moscow

July 25, 2003

Russian authorities said Friday that they were tipped off to a bomb cache, containing at least five explosive-packed belts, by a Chechen resident detained in connection with an alleged attempt to carry a purse full of explosives into a Moscow restaurant, according to news reports.

Agents of the Prosecutor General's Office and the Federal Security Service, or FSB, stormed the unoccupied house in Tolstopaltsevo, about 25 kilometers (15 miles) southwest of Moscow on Thursday afternoon, Russian state-television reported.

Among the items found during the nearly 21-hour search were at least six belts packed with explosives, presumably meant for use by suicide bombers, according to Russian media reports.

Russian authorities refused to officially confirm the reports.

The Interfax news agency, citing a source close to the investigation, said that Zarema Muzhekhoyeva, a 22-year-old resident of Chechnya, who has been in Russian custody since July 10, told them about the cache. She was arrested after arousing suspicion while trying to enter a Moscow restaurant, and explosives were allegedly found in her purse.

The bag, left on the sidewalk, later exploded and killed the FSB expert who was examining it.

Police linked the explosion to the deadly suicide bombings at a Moscow rock concert earlier this month that killed 15 spectators, including a woman who died in hospital Friday. The two bombers also died.

According to Russian news reports, citing unidentified security officials, the explosive belts found in the Tolstopaltsevo home were identical to those used by the suicide bombers at the rock concert.

The ITAR-Tass news agency said the belts contained the equivalent of 6 kilograms (13 pounds) of TNT. Bomb experts sent in robots which successfully defused the belts. No one was injured.

According to the Russian media, the home was owned by a Moscow family and rented out this summer. During the search, authorities evacuated all neighboring homes and closed the road to traffic. There were no reports of any arrests.

The Russian capital remains tense amid fears that Chechen rebels are bringing their fight to Moscow.

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