Train Explosion Kills Six near Chechnya Border

The explosion happened near the spa town of Pyatigorsk, northwest of the border with Chechnya, where federal forces have been fighting Chechen fighters for most of the last decade.
As the casualties were taken to hospital, where some of them are in a critical condition, Russian President Vladimir Putin telephoned the local governor to be briefed on exactly what happened.

The Kremlin has put forward a peace plan for Chechnya and the authorities in Moscow are under pressure to curb the violence after a series of bomb attacks by Chechens this year, including one in the Russian capital.