Four injured in Moscow market bomb blast

Moscow, Sep 15 (UNI) Four people, including a schoolboy and an elderly woman, have been injured in a bomb blast in a market in northern Moscow.

The blast, believed to be part of a turf war between retailers, occurred yesterday in the market on Lianozovsky Proyezd, near Altufyevo metro station and the MKAD ring road, a police officer told RIA Novosti news agency today.

It had a force of 0.4-0.5 kg of TNT equivalent, the officer said, adding the explosion shattered windows in two nearby stores.

''The home made device was placed in a glass jar stuffed with explosives, nuts and bolts,'' he informed, adding ''According to eyewitnesses, two unidentified people dropped the device into a garbage container and set it off by lighting a fuse, before fleeing the scene.'' A 68-year-old pensioner suffered first-degree burns, the police said.

Investigators are treating a local turf-war as the most likely motivation for the attack, it added.

UNI XC RJ ND1430