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April 14, 2011

Terrorist Bombing of the Subway Station in Minsk, Belarus

Pray for all those who were injured and killed in this terrorist attack in Minsk.

O God, Grant Rest eternal to thy departed servants:
* Natalia Abraj
* Tatiana Zakharkova
* Galina Pikulik
* Olga Solovyova
* Anna Shagoyko
* Vitaly Bakan
* Sergei Gerasimchik
* Roman Kaptyukh
* Yuri Klemets
* Anatoly Narkevich
* Aleksandr Parfuntsev
* Sergei Serban
* Anatoly Makeychik
Вечная память

MINSK, Belarus - Belarusian authorities said on Tuesday they have suspects in a subway bombing as the death toll rose to 12, with more than 200 wounded.

Belarus' domestic security agency said it had identified the likely perpetrator of Monday's explosion at a busy downtown subway station and was searching for him. It didn't elaborate. Interior Minister Anatoly Kuleshov said police had created composite pictures of two male suspects using testimony from witnesses. He said the bomb apparently was radio-controlled.

The Interior Ministry said the bomb placed under a bench on the Oktyabrskaya station exploded as people were coming off the trains at an evening peak hour.

The Oktyabrskaya station is within 100 meters of the presidential administration building and the Palace of the Republic, a concert hall often used for government ceremonies.

Authorities said that 204 people have sought medical help, and 157 of them have been hospitalized, including 22 in critical condition.

Viktor Sirenko, the chief doctor of the Minsk Emergency Hospital, said that many victims had lost arms or legs.

People streamed to the site of the explosion to lay flowers as police tightened security at all subway stations.

"I went through that hell, I saw that pile of disfigured bodies," 37-year-old Nina Rusetskaya said as she lit a candle at the explosion site. "I rode a car in the back of the train and only survived by miracle."

Police in Belarus carried out spot checks on roads and at stations and airports on Tuesday.

The explosive device, which had been packed with metal ball bearings and had a strength equivalent to 5 to 7 kgs of TNT, was apparently left under a platform bench. AP-Reuters