Russian horror at Chechen attacks

Kadyrov blames sentries for lax security

Russian officials have reacted with anger and horror to the series of blasts that left at least 44 people dead in Chechnya.

Presidential aide Sergey Yastrzhembsky said the attacks had targeted military installations and government buildings, and were an attempt to undermine Akhmad Kadyrov, the former Muslim cleric appointed by Russia to head the government of Chechnya.

Russians are safe from engagement in the field, says Manilov

"One can see behind all these acts of terrorism an attempt to challenge Kadyrov's appointment as head of the administration of the Chechen Republic and to counter his initial, energetic actions to change the socio-political situation," he said.

Mr Kadyrov himself blamed the troops who had let the lorries through checkpoints.

"If vehicles do not stop they should be destroyed," he said.

Mr Kadyrov thought Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov was no longer capable of launching such attacks, and accused Jordanian-born warlord Khattab of masterminding the attack.

Visit postponed

Russia's first deputy chief-of-staff, General Valeriy Manilov, postponed a visit to the Royal United Services Institute in London on Monday in the wake of the attacks.

He singled out President Maskhadov, and the two rebel commanders Khattab and Shamil Basayev, as is usually the case when Moscow seeks to apportion blame for rebel attacks in Chechnya.

General Manilov said most Chechens felt "anger, hatred and scorn" for those who planned the attacks, which he said were carried out by suicide-bombers "either deceived or intimidated" into taking part.

General Manilov said the Chechen forces were now merely "agonized remnants," obliged to carry out attacks to appease their sponsors in the Middle East, and because they lack the wherewithal to engage the Russians in the field.

"The separatists resort to extreme measures driven by their hatred towards the revival of life in Chechnya," he said.

Talks no use

Troshev: destroy rebels

The commander of the Russian forces in the northern Caucasus, General Gennady Troshev, drew a clear military conclusion from the attacks.

He said the Chechen rebels had to be wiped out.

"There is only one thing that can be done - to seek out and destroy them. Talks will not help."

BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.