Arkhangelsk blast was work of terrorists, authorities now suspect

The deadly bombing of an apartment building in Arkhangelsk was probably the work of terrorists, authorities now believe, a Rosbalt correspondent was told by a source in the headquarters of the emergency group handling the situation here.

Authorities doubt that the caps on gas lines in various parts of the city can all have been removed coincidentally in the course of a few hours. Rather, special services now are characterizing those actions as part of a well-planned 'diversionary tactic.' Investigators also believe that explosives were planted in the building brought down at No. 120 Soviet Cosmonauts Prospect. They say a gas explosion could not have had the results seen there. Traces of explosive have not been found, however. Investigators expect to find them, however, when the ruins of the first floor of the building can be sorted through.

This is the first time authorities have moved away from their original theory that the blast was an explosion of leaking household gas. Authorities have one suspect in custody.