Fifteen people are still missing as rescuers continue to scour the ruins of the building in sub-zero temperatures. Znak.com is a respected news website which has previously reported on the deaths of Russian military contractors in Syria. The incident took place opposite the city administration building, also located on Karl Marx Avenue, less than two miles from the site of the apartment blast. Boris Dubrovsky, the regional governor, said officers from the FSB security service were at the scene of the minivan blast, but insisted there was no link between the incident and the building explosion. Critics accused the Russian security services of carrying out the explosions as part of a plot to ensure Putin, a former FSB chief, would secure the presidency in elections held in March 2000.

Source: The Guardian January 02, 2019 15:25 UTC