GROZNY. Sept 18 (Interfax-AVN) - Investigators of the latest major terrorist attack in Grozny are probing several scenarios that involve Chechen militant leaders, Chechen Prosecutor Nikolai Kostyuchenko told Interfax on Wednesday.
"We have no evidence as yet that either Aslan Maskhadov or people close to him were involved in the attack," Kostyuchenko said.
No suspects have been detained so far, he said.
The death toll of the Monday attack in Grozny reached seven people, he said. Moreover, 24 people were injured.
Chief surgeon of Grozny Hospital No. 9 Abdulla Ismailov confirmed to Interfax that the number of terror attack victims is seven people. "There are 19 wounded people in the hospital, one of them in critical condition. The total number of people who were taken to hospitals is 29," he said.
The doctor insisted that this information is reliable and final, and was obtained after handling all reports from all hospitals in the city. Ismailov simultaneously performs the duties of head of the Grozny health department.
Deputy Chechen Prosecutor Taus Murdalov also told Interfax on Wednesday that the investigation knows the names of seven victims of the blast. Their bodies have been examined and identified, he said.
Murdalov called "farfetched and absolutely disagreeing with reality" reports from different sources, according to which the Monday blast killed from 15 to 18 people.
These reports "are being circulated by people who know nothing about the course of the investigation," he said.
"The death of these people shocked the entire republic, but I cannot understand why anybody would try to exaggerate the number of victims," Murdalov said. In his view, these sources could have added all people who have been killed in various circumstances in Chechnya over the past two days to the Monday terror attack victims. Murdalov also denied that several people allegedly involved in the attack have been detained and eliminated.
"Nobody has been detained, and we do not know anybody who could be justifiably suspected of committing this crime," he said.
Murdalov said he is convinced that the crime will be solved soon. "A large amount of material evidence has been gathered. The injured people and witnesses have been questioned. An investigative team consisting of 9 of the most experienced specialists has been put together," he said.
Murdalov also said a large number of people have visited the prosecutor's office to share even minor information concerning this terrorist attack.