RUSSIA -- A bus carrying university students and local residents on their way to work in the central Russian city of Togliatti (located 1,000 km southeast of Moscow) exploded during the early morning rush hour of Wednesday, October 31, 2007.

Eight people were killed and at least 53 people were injured from the powerful blast. Authorities say that the explosion was caused by two kilograms of TNT explosives which were either brought onto the bus by a passenger, hidden under the floor of the bus, or laid in the path of the bus.

The governor of the Samara region, Vladimir Artyakov, publicly announced, “We have reached the conclusion that this was an act of terrorism.”

This bombing took place one month before parliamentary elections, which follows a similar pattern of pre-election violence in other regions. Anonymous security sources suggest that the attack was carried out by Islamist extremists, although others suggest that organized crime groups could be behind the blast.

This is the first such attack in the city of Togliatti which has caused shock waves among the residents there. Such attacks are much more common in the volatile Northern Caucasus region of Russia where insurgent violence is a regular occurrence. In fact a similar bus explosion in the province of Dagestan occurred on October 23, killing
one person and wounding five.

Russian Ministries, a non-denominational evangelical Christian organization headquartered in Wheaton, Illinois, sponsors a “School Without Walls” nonformal training program for 20 potential Christian leaders in Togliatti which is directed by Sergey Guts.

Russian Ministries urges prayer for the families of the victims and the residents of Togliatti who have been affected by this violent attack, as well as safety for the students enrolled in its “School Without Walls” program.

For more information on this recent attack and the work of Russian Ministries in this region, please contact Sergey Rakhuba at: 630-462-1739, or sergey@russian-ministries.org.

Russian Ministries
Email: sergey@russian-ministries.org
Web: www.russian-ministries.org
Tel: 630-462-1739

© 2007 ASSIST News Service, used with permission