At least 38 people are known to have died, with more than 60 others injured, in two suicide bomb attacks on Moscow’s metro during Monday's morning rush hour.

Female suicide bombers are believed to have carried out the attacks on trains that had stopped at two stations in the heart of the Russian capital.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for being behind the attacks, but Russian security services claimed the bombers were linked to militant groups in the North Caucasus region.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin cut short a visit to the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk to return to the capital, stating that a crime that was "terrible in its consequences and heinous in its manner" had been committed. He has vowed to "destroy" those responsible for the attacks.

After laying a wreath at the site of one of the attacks, President Dimitry Medvedev announced: "They are animals. I have no doubt that we will find and destroy them all."

The first explosion tore through the second carriage of a train at 0756 Moscow time, as it stood at central Lubyanka station waiting for morning rush hour commuters to board.

The station, on both the busy Sokolnicheskaya and Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya lines, lies beneath the headquarters of the Federal Security Service (FSB).

The second blast at Park Kultury,six stops away from Lubyanka on the Sokolnicheskaya line, came at 0838 local time. It struck at the back of the train as people were getting on board.

Security services said the bomb that went off at Lubyanka station had an equivalent force of up to 4kg of TNT, while the bomb at Park Kultury was equivalent to 1.5-2kg of TNT.

The devices - believed to have been made with the powerful explosive, hexogen, more commonly known as RDX - were filled with chipped iron rods and screws for shrapnel.

The system was partially disrupted following the attacks, but damage to the stations was minimal and both had reportedly reopened by the evening rush hour.

Moscow's metro is one of the most-used underground railways in the world, carrying about 5,5 M passengers daily.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!