| Car bombs make me jumpy, and I'm not a Tadjik... |
No one knows who was behind Monday's car bombing — or even whether it was one — but it appears to confirm fears of pre-election trouble. The dust has settled from an apparent car bomb which killed one person and shook government buildings in the Tajik capital Dushanbe, but the political fallout is yet to become clear. Most seem to believe the explosion had something to do with politics — Tajikistan holds a general election on February 27 — but what exactly, no one knows.The blast happened at 10:20 on the morning of Monday, January 31, outside the ministry for emergency situations. The driver of a Russian-made Volga car was killed in an explosion so powerful that the vehicle was totally destroyed and the wreckage dispersed over a 200-metre radius. Windows of nearby office and apartment blocks were shattered and several other vehicles badly damaged. About 10 people inside the ministry building were hurt, and several of them were taken to hospital suffering blast injuries.
A spokesman for the military prosecutor's office told the media the explosion was a "terrorist act" caused by explosives. They have already identified the dead man, who was driving his own car, as a Dushanbe resident. Police and prosecution officials were soon on the scene, and the investigation was assigned to the ministry of security. Yet even as security officers began picking over the wreckage, a major fire broke out at their own ministry. The security ministry building was evacuated and firemen moved in, but they were unable to save a canteen and conference hall. Officials were quick to say there were no suspicious circumstances and that the fire had started because of an electrical short-circuit.