Two explosions ripped through a market in north-east Moscow on Monday morning, killing at least nine people and injuring 33.
Acting mayor Vladimir Resin told reporters that the blasts were ”an intentional act” caused by a homemade bomb, and prosecutors said a feud between rival gangs was the most likely cause of the attack.
Moscow city prosecutor Yuri Syomin said a device containing the equivalent of 1,2kg of TNT had been detonated.
The blasts reportedly took place around 10.30am at the ”Eurasia” section of Cherkizovsky market, one of the city’s most popular places for buying fresh produce and cheap clothes.
Resin said 10 people had died. Police put the death toll at nine, including three children.
Syomin rushed to the scene with a team of detectives and investigators.
Interior ministry sources said the blasts were not being regarded as a terrorist attack, and initially blamed them on leaking gas igniting. However, prosecutors opened a criminal case on murder charges, suggesting a business dispute was probably behind the attack. Homemade bombs have often been used in turf wars between rival Russian enterprises.
Rescuers were on Monday combing the remains of the two-storey building that was partly destroyed in the blasts. Sniffer dogs were employed to seek out traces of explosives.
The victims were thought to be market-sellers and customers who were browsing rows of stalls inside the building. Survivors were taken to city hospitals as police cordoned off the area.
Cherkizovsky market, which sprawls across several hectares, has been the scene of several violent confrontations between police and traders from central Asia. – Guardian Unlimited Â