MOSCOW Eight people died and 50 were hurt when a bomb exploded on a bus packed with morning commuters in the southern Russian city of Togliatti yesterday.

Prosecutors began a terrorism investigation after police said that the blast was caused by 2 kilos (4.4 lb) of explosive. The city, 600 miles (966 km) from Moscow, is a centre of car manufacturing in Russia.

Interfax news reported one unidentified source as saying that Islamic extremists could have been responsible. But police were also investigating links to organised crime, since the city is notorious for conflicts between gangs involved in the trade in car parts.

Russia has parliamentary elections on December 2, and President Putin has ordered the security services to prevent any attempts to destabilise the country in the run-up to the vote. “We have reached the conclusion that this was an act of terrorism,” Vladimir Artyakov, the region’s governor, told Russian television.

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