Germany vows to investigate friendly fire incident-6 Afghans soldiers dead

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Germany's defense minister has announced a thorough investigation into the friendly fire clash that left six Afghan soldiers dead.

Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg told journalists on Sunday that his office and the office of the German prosecutor general will investigate what happened Friday night near the northern Afghan city of Kunduz. NATO's ISAF and the Afghan Defense Ministry have also launched investigations.

The incident occurred on the same day that three German troops died and eight were wounded in heavy fighting with insurgents near Kunduz.

Guttenberg expressed his sympathy to the families and relatives of the Afghan soldiers killed by German soldiers. The German troops were rushing to the scene of their comrade's fighting after nightfall and mistook them for insurgents, the military said.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

BERLIN (AP) — A German minister urged the country's public to show more understanding and support for their troops in Afghanistan after German soldiers accidentally killed six Afghan soldiers in a friendly fire incident.

Development Minister Dirk Niebel told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper that the public should have "more comprehension for the need that they sometimes have to defend themselves preemptively."

The incident occurred on the same day that three German troops died and eight were wounded in fighting with insurgents in Afghanistan.

Niebel said German soldiers can't understand the lack of comprehension by the German public and why they have to fear prosecution at home for defending themselves.

Niebel met with German soldiers in Afghanistan on Saturday after visiting development projects and was flying back to Germany on Sunday with three coffins from Friday's fighting.

The presence of some 4,000 German troops in Afghanistan is increasingly unpopular in Germany, where politicians stop short of calling military operations there a war.

Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg was holding a news conference Sunday and was expected to face tough questions over the deadly friendly fire incident Friday night in Kunduz province in northern Afghanistan.

There was still conflicting information about what happened. The German military maintains the vehicles carrying the Afghan soldiers could not be recognized as such, but the commander of Afghan forces in northern Afghanistan, Gen. Murad Ani, however, said both vehicles were clearly marked.

The Afghan military puts the death toll at six, the Germans speak of five troops killed.

Kunduz is also where German forces were sharply criticized last September when they ordered an airstrike on two tanker trucks that had been captured by the Taliban. Up to 142 people died, many of them civilians.

Chancellor Angela Merkel called Afghan president Hamid Karzai on Saturday to express her condolences over the accidental killing of Afghan troops, and he expressed sympathy regarding the deaths of the three German soldiers.

In a separate development, retired General Harald Kujat, formerly the highest ranking German soldier and chairman of the NATO Military Committee, accused the government of "ignorance regarding the military's needs" for operations in Afghanistan.

Kujat told daily Welt am Sonntag that crucial equipment for a successful mission is missing and there aren't enough boots on the ground.

The current mandate — allowing a maximum of 5,000 soldiers — is a political compromise "which is not reflecting the real operational needs." The government lacks a coherent strategy, he said.

Kujat — who was Germany's top soldier between 2000 and 2002 before moving to the NATO headquarters — also said he expects more brazen attacks by the Taliban on the German military in northern Afghanistan.

So far, 39 German soldiers have lost their life in Afghanistan, 22 of them in combat or following bomb attacks.


German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg informs the media about the recent incident in Afghanistan during a news conference in Bonn, Germany, Sunday April 4, 2010. German troops in a deadly firefight with Taliban insurgents accidentally killed six Afghan troops. Three Germans died in the firefight with the militants. The friendly fire incident Friday took place in northern Kunduz province, where German forces were sharply criticized last September when they ordered an airstrike on two tanker trucks that had been captured by the Taliban. Up to 142 people died, many of them civilians.


In this photo released by the German government on Sunday, April 4, 2010, German ISAF soldiers attend a military farewell ceremony for three killed comrades at the German ISAF base in Kunduz, Afghanistan, Sunday, April 4, 2010. Three German ISAF soldiers have been killed during a fight with Taliban fighters on Friday, April 2, 2010, eight soldiers were wounded, four of them seriously


 

In this photo released by the German government on Sunday, April 4, 2010, German ISAF soldiers carry a flag-drapped coffin to a transport helicopter at the German base in Kunduz, Afghanistan, on Sunday, April 4, 2010. Three German ISAF soldiers have been killed during a fight with Taliban fighters on Friday, April 2, 2010, eight soldiers were wounded, four of them seriously.



German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg informs the media about the recent incident in Afghanistan during a news conference in Bonn, Germany, Sunday April 4, 2010. German troops in a deadly firefight with Taliban insurgents accidentally killed six Afghan troops. Three Germans died in the firefight with the militants. The friendly fire incident Friday took place in northern Kunduz province, where German forces were sharply criticized last September when they ordered an air strike on two tanker trucks that had been captured by the Taliban. Up to 142 people died, many of them civilians


German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg informs the media about the recent incident in Afghanistan during a news conference in Bonn, Germany, Sunday April 4, 2010. German troops in a deadly firefight with Taliban insurgents accidentally killed six Afghan troops. Three Germans died in the firefight with the militants. The friendly fire incident Friday took place in northern Kunduz province, where German forces were sharply criticized last September when they ordered an airstrike on two tanker trucks that had been captured by the Taliban. Up to 142 people died, many of them civilians.


German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, left and the Inspector General of the German army, General Volker Wieker, right, jointly inform the media about the recent incident in Afghanistan during a news conference in Bonn, Germany, April 4, 2010. German troops in a deadly firefight with Taliban insurgents accidentally killed six Afghan troops. Three Germans died in the firefight with the militants. The friendly fire incident Friday took place in northern Kunduz province, where German forces were sharply criticized last September when they ordered an air strike on two tanker trucks that had been captured by the Taliban. Up to 142 people died, many of them civilians.

Six Arrested After Girl, 7, Is Gang-Raped in New Jersey-7-year-old NJ girl sold like prostitute by stepsister

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Gregory Leary

Denver for News

The girl's own 15-year-old stepsister sold her like a prostitute at the party, police said.

Protesters gather outside a vacant apartment 13C at Rowan Towers in Trenton, N.J., in protest of the recent gang rape of a 7-year-old girl in the apartment.

New Jersey officials announced on Saturday six arrests in connection with the gang rape of a 7-year-old girl who investigators believe was sold for sex by her 15-year-old stepsister at a party in a Trenton high-rise last weekend.

The developments followed an intense, weeklong inquiry into what occurred on March 28 in a 13th-floor apartment at the Rowan Towers complex on West State Street, near the State Capitol. Officials said they expected to make more arrests in the coming days.

Investigators arrested one man, Gregory Joseph Leary, 20, of Trenton, on Thursday and charged him with raping the 15-year-old girl, whom the authorities did not identify. Another man Tiemear Lewis, 19, of Trenton, was also charged in the case, officials said.

Joseph L. Bocchini Jr., the Mercer County prosecutor, said his office would likely seek to try at least one of three juveniles who were charged, ages 17, 14 and 13, in adult court.

But the 15-year-old girl may have been more than a victim, the authorities said.

She also was arrested this week on aggravated sexual assault and other charges “for her role in allowing her 7-year-old sister to be sexually assaulted,” the police said in a statement. The girl was remanded to the Mercer County Youth Detention Center.

Trenton officials said that the 15-year-old is accused of first having sex for money herself, then accepting cash to let men touch the 7-year-old. That touching then led to rape by multiple men, according to the investigation, which is continuing, officials said.

At a news conference at the city’s police headquarters on Saturday evening, Mayor Douglas H. Palmer of Trenton said: “Good people came forward to try and get justice for this 7-year-old angel, who was brutally gang-raped by pedophile animals. Everyone that was responsible is still not arrested. Police won’t rest until we get every one.”

Officials said the two sisters went together to a party in the high-rise, where they were both assaulted.

The 7-year-old girl told the police she knew the party was trouble, but she went because she wanted to protect her sister, Mr. Palmer said. Both girls had been on the blotters of various child welfare services, he said.

The girls had been reported missing to the Trenton police at the time of the episode, Mr. Bocchini said.

Mr. Palmer said the 7-year-old met him at his office on Thursday, and he gave her a stuffed Easter bunny. But the family will soon be moved out of the area, he said, because “she will be stigmatized.”

Mr. Palmer said the girl told him: “Everybody’s staring at me. They know it’s me.”

Two adults and three juveniles were arrested Saturday for the gang rape of a 7-year-old Trenton, N.J. girl who was sold like a prostitute by her stepsister, cops said.

The horrible crime happened at a crowded apartment last Sunday. The teen left the girl unattended while she had sex for money with several men, cops said.

After she was done, the teen told her stepsister to let the men touch her.

"It went from touching to straight out assault and rape," Trenton Police Capt. Joseph Juniak said at the time. "They threatened to kill her if she screamed or told anyone."

The stepsister was charged with aggravated sexual assault, promoting prostitution and other crimes.

Details of Saturday's arrests were not immediately available.

Hymns and electric guitars: Jerusalem marks Easter-Christian pilgrims mark Easter in Jerusalem

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With ancient hymns and religious rock bands, Christians from around the world are celebrating Easter Sunday in Jerusalem.

Armenian Christians in ornate robes are holding a ceremony in the dark, incense-filled chambers of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Many Christians believe Jesus was crucified, buried and then resurrected on Easter Sunday at this site.

Outside the Old City, members of Protestant church groups held their own celebration among the trees of the site known as the Garden Tomb, where some traditions say Jesus was buried.

Two guitarists, a drummer and a keyboard player led hundreds of worshippers in English prayer.

"All hail, redeemer, for thou hast died for me," they sang, some raising their hands and closing their eyes.

Thousands of Christian pilgrims streamed into Jerusalem's cavernous Church of the Holy Sepulchre to celebrate Easter Sunday at the traditional site of Jesus's crucifixion and burial.

Incense filled the air as Western and Orthodox pilgrims packed into the labyrinthine maze of chapels and crypts lit by thousands of candles as services were held at the grotto where Jesus is believed to have risen from the dead.

Women in shawls knelt to kiss the stone where Jesus's body is believed to have been prepared for burial as bearded monks in long black robes watched over visitors making their way through Christianity's holiest site.

"I came all the way from Belarus for the holiday," said Lana, 38, as she waited in a long line at one of the chapels. "I am so happy to be able to light a candle at this holy tomb."

The centuries-old church is shared uneasily by six denominations of Jesus Christ's followers -- Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Armenian Orthodox, Egyptian Copts, Syrian Orthodox and Ethiopian Orthodox.

In previous years Israeli police have had to rush into the church to break up fist fights between rival monks over alleged attempts to alter a delicate status quo hammered out over centuries, but this year calm prevailed.

The Latin Patriarch Fuad Twal welcomed the fact that Easter fell on the same day for Western and Eastern denominations, saying in his Easter sermon that "this year... our joy is double."

"Someone might be disturbed by the overlapping of prayers and songs... Yet this seeming cacophony, lived in faith, becomes instead a symphony that expresses the unity of the faith," he said.

Israeli police had stepped up security across the walled Old City during holy week, when thousands of pilgrims trace Jesus's final steps through its winding cobblestone streets.

Israel maintained a general closure of the West Bank imposed for the weeklong Jewish Passover holiday but the military said it issued more than 10,000 permits allowing Palestinian Christians to enter for up to two weeks.

Another 500 Christians from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, about a fourth of the territory's tiny non-Muslim minority, were also granted permits to travel to Israel and the West Bank, according to the military.

The Palestinians have however complained of restrictions, including long waits at the hundreds of checkpoints scattered across the occupied territory.

"My family got permits to come to Jerusalem but they decided not to because they will suffer at Qalandiya," said Rimas Kasabreh, 34, a Greek Orthodox woman living in Jerusalem, referring to the main checkpoint outside the city.

Her family hails from a village near the northern West Bank town of Jenin. "The lines take hours. It would spoil the happiness of the holiday," she said.

Jerusalem, with famed sites sacred to Jews, Muslims and Christians, has seen rising tensions in recent weeks following Israel's announcement of plans for new Jewish settlements in the mostly Arab eastern side of the city.

The Old City is part of east Jerusalem, which Israel occupied in the 1967 Six Day War and annexed in a move not recognised by any other government.

Israel views all of Jerusalem as its "eternal, undivided" capital, but the Palestinians have demanded east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, and the dispute over the city has paralysed US-led peace efforts.

In an Easter message delivered at the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI called for a "true exodus" from the Middle East conflict.

"I pray... that in the Middle East, and especially in the land sanctified by (Christ's) death and resurrection, the peoples will accomplish a true and definitive 'exodus' from war and violence to peace and concord," he said.



A Catholic priest prays during the Washing of the Feet ceremony inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, traditionally believed by many Christians to be the site of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus Christ, in Jerusalem's Old City, Thursday, April 1, 2010. Christians from around the world are in the Holy Land marking the solemn period of Easter.


Worshippers gathered at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to light their candles on the eve of Easter Sunday


Gaza's Christians celebrate Easter mass.


Pilgrims attended services held at the grotto where Jesus is believed to have risen from the dead


Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theofilos III, right, washes the foot of a priest during the Washing of the Feet ceremony outside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, traditionally believed by many Christians to be the site of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus Christ, in Jerusalem's Old City, Thursday, April 1, 2010. Christians from around the world are in the Holy Land marking the solemn period of Easter


Ethiopian Orthodox Christian pilgrims pray inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, traditionally believed to be the site of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, in Jerusalem's Old City, Thursday, April 1, 2010. Christians from around the world are in the Holy Land marking the solemn period of Easter.

White supremacist's killing a 'declaration of war'

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A top member of a South African white supremacist group says the slaying of their leader is "a declaration of war" by blacks against whites.

Andre Visagie also vowed Sunday to avenge the death of Eugene Terreblanche and says his group will warn soccer teams to avoid the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. He did not specify what form the vengeance will take.

Terreblanche led the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging movement, which wanted to create three all-white republics that would only allow blacks as guest workers.

Police said he was bludgeoned to death Saturday by two of his farm workers over wages. Terreblanche's followers on Sunday blamed a fiery youth leader for spreading hate speech that led to his killing, a charge the youth leader denied.



Followers of the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) leader Eugene Terreblanche gather near Ventersdrop, 140km West of Johannesburg, South Africa, Sunday April 4, 2010. Terreblanche was attacked and killed at his farm 10km outside Ventersdorp on Saturday, North West police said. Captain Adele Myburgh said Terreblanche, 69, was attacked by a man and minor who worked for him after they allegedly had an argument over unpaid wages.


Followers of the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) leader Eugene Terreblanche bring flowers to the gate of his property near Ventersdrop, 140km West of Johannesburg, South Africa, Sunday April 4, 2010. Terreblanche was attacked and killed at his farm 10km outside Ventersdorp on Saturday, North West police said. Captain Adele Myburgh said Terreblanche, 69, was attacked by a man and minor who worked for him after they allegedly had an argument over unpaid wages, the South African Press Agency reported


Followers of the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) leader Eugene Terreblanche gather near Ventersdrop, 140km West of Johannesburg, South Africa, Sunday April 4, 2010. Terreblanche was attacked and killed at his farm 10km outside Ventersdorp on Saturday, North West police said. Captain Adele Myburgh said Terreblanche, 69, was attacked by a man and minor who worked for him after they allegedly had an argument over unpaid wages


In this Friday Dec. 16, 2005 file photo, South African white supremacist leader Eugene Terreblanche addresses followers at a rally held downtown Pretoria, South Africa. Leader of the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) Terreblanche was attacked and killed at his farm 10km outside Ventersdorp on Saturday, North West police said. Captain Adele Myburgh said Terreblanche, 69, was attacked by a man and minor who worked for him after they allegedly had an argument over unpaid wages, the South African Press Agency reported


A follower of the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) leader Eugene Terreblanche speaks to South African Police commissioner Bheki Cele, sitting in car, near Ventersdrop, 140km West of Johannesburg, South Africa, Sunday April 4, 2010. Terreblanche was attacked and killed at his farm 10km outside Ventersdorp on Saturday, North West police said. Captain Adele Myburgh said Terreblanche, 69, was attacked by a man and minor who worked for him after they allegedly had an argument over unpaid wage


South African police officers enter the farm of Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) leader Eugene Terreblanche near Ventersdrop, 140km West of Johannesburg, South Africa, Sunday April 4, 2010. Terreblanche was attacked and killed at his farm 10km outside Ventersdorp on Saturday, North West police said. Captain Adele Myburgh said Terreblanche, 69, was attacked by a man and minor who worked for him after they allegedly had an argument over unpaid wages.


African National Congress Youth League leader Julius Malema, at a rally in Harare in neighboring Zimbabwe Saturday, April 3, 2010. Followers of South Africa's slain white supremacist leader Eugene Terreblanche said Sunday, April 4, 2010, they blame Malema for spreading hate speech that led to his killing, amid growing racial tensions in the once white-led South Africa.


Followers of the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) leader Eugene Terreblanche gather near Ventersdrop, 140km West of Johannesburg, South Africa, Sunday April 4, 2010. Terreblanche was attacked and killed at his farm 10km outside Ventersdorp on Saturday, North West police said. Captain Adele Myburgh said Terreblanche, 69, was attacked by a man and minor who worked for him after they allegedly had an argument over unpaid wages.


flowers are seen on a gate of the farm of Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) leader Eugene Terreblanche near Ventersdrop, 140km West of Johannesburg, South Africa, Sunday April 4, 2010. Terreblanche was attacked and killed at his farm 10km outside Ventersdorp on Saturday, North West police said. Captain Adele Myburgh said Terreblanche, 69, was attacked by a man and minor who worked for him after they allegedly had an argument over unpaid wages.


In this photo taken Friday, April 2, 2010 African National Congress Youth League leader Julius Malema, third from right, arrives at Harare's International airport for a visit to neighbouring Zimbabwe. Followers of South Africa's slain white supremacist leader Eugene Terreblanche said Sunday , April 4, 2010, they blame Malema for spreading hate speech that led to his killing, amid growing racial tensions in the once white-led South Africa.

Pope equates Easter with pardon

Pope Benedict XVI has said Easter brings a message of pardon, goodness and truth to a suffering world but he has made no mention of the clergy abuse cover-up scandals that are buffeting him and his church.

The Urbi et Orbi Easter message is one of two major speeches the pope gives every year to the general public.

Applause rang out in St. Peter's Square as Benedict concluded a Mass during which a senior cardinal praised him as a courageous leader and dismissed the allegations as petty gossip.

Benedict decried the suffering of Christians in Pakistan and elsewhere because of religious persecution. He also recalled the hardships of earthquake victims in Haiti and Chile and denounced violence emanatingfrom drug trafficking in Latin America.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Buffeted by sex abuse scandals, the Vatican kept up its stiff defense of Pope Benedict XVI Sunday, hailing him at the start of Easter Mass as an unfailing and courageous leader of a flock that takes no heed of "petty gossip."

The tribute by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals, was an unusual departure from Easter ceremony traditions in St. Peter's Square. It underscored the Vatican's determination to defend Benedict from accusations that he was part of a culture of secrecy toward handling sex accusations involving clergy during the time before he became pope.

Benedict looked weary as he listened to Sodano's speech. A canopy on the central steps of St. Peter's Basilica shielded him from light rain.

Sodano said that, despite the rain, the atmosphere should be considered sunny.

"With this spirit today we rally close around you, successor to (St.) Peter, bishop of Rome, the unfailing rock of the Holy church of Christ, to sing with you the Alleluia of Christian faith and hope," Sodano told the pope.

"Holy Father, on your side are the people of God, who do not let themselves be influenced by the petty gossip of the moment, by the trials which sometimes buffet the community of believers."

Tens of thousands of pilgrims, tourists and Romans turned out despite the weather.

Sunday's edition of the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano denounced the accusations against the pope as a "vile defamation operation."

The Vatican has accused the media of fanning the scandal by reporting on cases of priests who raped children and bishops who either didn't report it to police or were obstructed from pursuing church trials by the Vatican.

Benedict hasn't made any explicit reference to the scandal since he released a letter to the Irish faithful concerning the abuse crisis in that country on March 20.

In rushing to Benedict's defense, the Vatican has angered abuse victims and their advocates, as well as Jewish leaders, who fumed after the papal preacher in a Good Friday sermon told the pope that the accusations against him were akin to the campaign of anti-Semitic violence that culminated in the Holocaust.

The preacher, the Rev. Raniero Cantalamessa, told Corriere della Sera daily in an interview Sunday that he had no intention "of hurting the sensibilities of the Jews and of the victims of pedophilia."

"I have sincerely regretted and I ask forgiveness, reaffirming my solidarity with both" lobbies, he was quoted as saying.


Pope Benedict XVI, right, is greeted by Cardinal Angelo Sodano during an Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican





Pope Benedict XVI looks on during an Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, April 4, 2010.


Pope Benedict XVI, right, is hugged by Cardinal Angelo Sodano during an Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican,


A member of the chorus holds a music score during the Easter Mass celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI, Sunday, April 4, 2010.


atican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, right, and Cardinal Angelo Sodano attend the Easter Mass celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI in St. Peter's square, at the Vatican,


Pope Benedict XVI is helped as he arrives to the altar to celebrate the Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday,


Pope Benedict XVI bows in front of an icon of Jesus during an Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 4, 2010


Pope Benedict XVI looks on as he celebrates the Easter Mass in St. Peter's square, at the Vatican, Sunday, April 4, 2010.


Members of the Italian Armed Forces stand in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican during the Easter Mass celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI, Sunday, April 4, 2010


Pope Benedict XVI, left, flanked by master of ceremonies Bishop Guido Marini arrives in St. Peter's Square to celebrate the Easter Mass at the Vatican, Sunday,

In the arms of her militant husband, the baby-faced 'Black Widow' who 'blew herself up on the Moscow metro'

This is the baby-faced 'Black Widow' suspected of blowing up herself and scores of commuters on the Moscow underground this week.

Looking like an Islamic extremist version of Bonnie and Clyde, Dzhennet Abdurakhmanova, 17, and her husband, a notorious militant leader, pose with guns.

Abdurakhmanova became a widow last year when Umalat Magomedov, an Islamist rebel in the southern republic of Dagestan, was shot by Russian agents.

Police believe she blew herself up at the Lubyanka metro station on Monday, underneath the FSB security service headquarters, to avenge the deaths of those killed by Russian troops fighting rebels in the Caucasus region.
The teenager, named in Moscow's Kommersant newspaper yesterday, and another suicide bomber killed 40 people in their attack. A further 90 were injured.

The second bomber is believed to be 20-year- old Markha Ustarkhanova, who last year ran away from her parents' home to marry warlord Said-Emin Khizriev, a rebel leader in war-torn Chechnya. He was killed in a Russian operation in October.

Abdurakhmanova's 30-year-old husband Magomedov died when traffic police began shooting down a car in which he and three other militants were travelling in in the town of Khasavyurt, Dagestan.

Monday's rush hour attack, in which Abdurakhmanova and an accomplice are believed to have detonated explosive vests 40 minutes apart, has prompted fears of a wave of Black Widow suicide bombings in Russia.
These fears intensified on Wednesday when a bomb at a school in Dagestan, which borders Chechnya, left 12 people dead.

According to Russia's Kommersant newspaper, Abdurakhmanova's husband was the leader of a terrorist group in Dagestan linked to the Islamist movement of Doku Umarov, who today claimed responsibility for the metro bombings.

Umarov, who leads Islamic militants in Chechnya and other regions in Russia's North Caucasus, said in a video posted on a pro-rebel website that the twin suicide attacks were an act of revenge for the killing of civilians by Russian security forces.


He warned that attacks on Russian cities would continue.

Police released photographs of the facial remains of the two bombers this week. The woman who carried out the second bombing has not been identified but Kommersant claims it was a 20-year-old Chechen woman Markha Ustarkhanova.

Russian officials would not immediately confirm either identification claim.
Umarov's statement claiming responsibility for the bombings was posted after prime minister Vladimir Putin vowed to 'drag out of the sewer' the terrorists who plotted the attacks.

Putin said it was likely the bombings in Dagestan could have been planned by the same group behind the Moscow attack.
'I don't rule out that this is one and the same gang,' he said at a televised Cabinet meeting. President Dmitry Medvedev later called the attacks 'links of the same chain'.

The bombings in Moscow were the first suicide attacks in the Russian capital in six years and shocked a country that had grown accustomed to having such violence confined to its restive southern corner.

Umarov blamed ordinary ssians for turning a blind eye to the killing of civilians in the Caucasus by security forces and warned that more attacks on Russian cities were coming.

'I promise you that the war will come to your streets and you will feel it in your lives, feel it on your own skin,' Umarov said in a video posted on kavkazcentre.com, a website affiliated with the rebels.

Officials at Russian law enforcement agencies refused to comment on Umarov's claim, but the Russian security chief has previously said that the tube bombings were carried out by militants from the Caucasus.

Moscow police have been on high alert since the attacks, beefing up roadblocks on roads leading into the city.

The agency's chief said yesterday that thousands of officers had been sent to patrol the subway, check on migrants from southern provinces and inspect warehouses that could hold arms caches.


'Black Widow': Suspected suicide bomber Dzhennet Abdurakhmanova poses with her husband Umalat Magomedov, who was killed in in December last year

The pair also posed in the undated pictures with Abdurakhmanova, this time wearing the full veil across her face, holding what appears to be a grenade

Aftermath: Rescue services and firefighters carry away injured victims after Monday's suicide attacks

Abdurakhmanova brandishes a gun wearing black Islamic dress, left, and right, the grainy picture which is understood to be her remains after Monday's suicide attack

Doku Umarov has claimed responsibility for the metro bombings and warned it could be followed by more attacks

Filipinos whipped and nailed to crosses in terrifyingly realistic re-enactment of the Crucifixion

Devout Filipinos have been nailed to crosses and whipped in an annual ritual to mark Good Friday.

Dozens of people were crucified in villages across the Roman Catholic country, in one of the world's most bizarre practices to mark the day when Christians believe Jesus Christ was put to death.

The event drew more than 10,000 Filipino and foreign spectators.
Many gathered at San Pedro Cutud, a farming village where devotees dressed in robes and tin crowns walked to a dusty mound carrying wooden crosses on their backs.

At the mound, men nailed their hands and feet to the crosses.
Among the devotees was Ruben Enaje, a 49-year-old sign painter who was nailed to a cross for the 24th time as his way of thanking God for his survival after falling from a building.

Mary Jane Mamangon, a 34-year-old rice cake vendor, was the lone female devotee to be nailed to a cross this year in San Juan village. It was her 14th time.
She said she started when she was 18 and has taken part in the annual rites on and off to seek God's help in saving her ill grandmother and now her younger sister, who is suffering from cancer.

'I do it because I have seen that it works,' she said. 'I saw how my grandmother recovered from her illness.'

Similar rites took place in nearby Bulacan province, while in other parts of the country, half-dressed, barefooted flagellants walked the streets, whipping their bloody backs with pieces of wood dangling from ropes as a way to atone for sins.
The crucifixion re-enactment has taken place for over 33 years and ends at 3pm, when a person portraying the role of Jesus is nailed on the cross.

According to Catholics, this is also the exact time when Jesus died.

Church leaders reject such practices. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines said the real expression of Christian faith during Lent is through repentance and self-renewal, not flagellation or crucifixion.

Bishop Rolando Tirona of the Prelature of Infanta said flagellation and cross nailings were expressions of superstitious beliefs, and were usually done out of need for money or to encourage tourism.
About 80 per cent of the population of more than 90million people in the Philippines are Roman Catholic.

For the first time foreigners were banned from taking part in the ritual carried out in Pampanga province's San Fernando city.

Organiser Ching Pangilinan said the ban was imposed after foreigners took part in previous years to make fun of the rites.

'We don't want them to just make a mockery out of the tradition of the people here,' Pangilinan said.
A man dressed as Jesus on the cross for a Good Friday open air performance of The Passion Of Jesus in London's Trafalgar Square, which attracted hundreds of onlookers.


Hundreds of people looked on during a Good Friday performance at Trafalgar Square

Ritual: Men raise the cross of the penitent in San Juan village, northern Philippines

Devotee: This man, from the village of San Pedro, north of Manila, was among more than 23 people who were nailed to crosses

Catholic: Mary Jane Mamangon, 34, was the lone woman to be crucified in Pampanga province, northern Philippines

Painfully devoted: Ruben Enaje, a 49-year-old sign painter, was nailed to a cross for the 24th time as his way of thanking God for his survival after falling from a building. The bizarre practice is an annual Filipino ritual to mark Good Friday

The ritual has taken place for the last 33 years, and ends at 3pm - which is the exact time the Catholics believe Jesus died

Maria Wendelyn Pedrosa, 19, is carried by Filipinos in the town of Hagonoy, Bulacan province, northern Philippines

A man rushes forward carrying a cross as he is whipped by others during the reenactment of the sufferings of Jesus Christ