New bus explosion in Tiraspol leaves one dead, eleven injured

Blood from a Tiraspol-bus smears the ground where an explosion ripped out doors and windows.

TIRASPOL (Tiraspol Times) - On Sunday, a new bus explosion tore the doors and windows off a trolleybus in Tiraspol, killing one and leaving eleven passengers wounded. The bombing comes on the heels of a similar bus explosion July 6.

According to the eyewitnesses, the blast took place at 1:55 pm on Sunday afternoon, tearing doors and windows off the bus and stopping traffic in a central area of Tiraspol. At the time, the bus was carrying mostly families with their children on the way home from church and visiting relatives. Among the seriously wounded are three children who were on a Sunday outing with the families.

On July 6, at least seven people were killed and 30 injured after a suspected bomb ripped a minibus apart in Tiraspol, the capital of the self-proclaimed republic.

Use of grenades indicate no suicide bombing

Investigators at the scene located components of two fragmentary grenades, most likely thrown towards the back of the bus by a passenger or passengers situated in the front.

" - The use of two grenades show that this explosion was intentional", said the deputy head of the Pridnestrovie prosecutor's office, Andrey Dolt. He notes that "the current explosion is not connected with the 6 July minibus explosion, since the types of explosive devices were different."

Pridnestrovie, also known as Transnistria, has a predominantly Russian speaking population. It proclaimed independence in 1990 during the collapse of the Soviet Union, sparking an armed conflict with Moldova that ended in a ceasefire agreement.

Pridnestrovie's Ministry of Internal Affairs has posted a reward for $10,000 for information leading to the arrest of the perpetrators of Sunday's bombing in Tiraspol.

See also:
» Minibus bomber in Tiraspol identified; bomb went off before its time