Soldier linked to rail disaster

Russian authorities suspect a former Russian soldier of being behind Sunday's train derailment which killed at least 25 people and injured about 100.

According to news reports yesterday, the Russian security services have named Pavel Kosolapov, a soldier turned Islamic militant, as one of the top suspects in the train derailment, which appears to have been caused by a bomb.

Little is known about Kosolapov and there is only one grainy photograph of him in public circulation.

He is believed to have converted to Islam during the 1990s and become a close associate of Shamil Basayev, the terrorist mastermind behind the Beslan school siege, who was finally killed by Russian forces in 2006.

Kosolapov is wanted in connection with a bomb incident that took place on the same line and derailed a similar Nevsky Express train two years ago. On that occasion, nobody was killed.

Two men from Ingushetia, the restive province that borders Chechnya, are standing trial for the earlier incident, and one of them has admitted his guilt.

The confirmed death toll from the derailment stood at 25 yesterday, with the fate of 26 passengers still unknown.

Some of them might have missed the train, said investigators. So far, there have been no credible claims of responsibility for the attack, and some pundits have even doubted the official explanation of terrorism.

- INDEPENDENT