Question mark suggests skepticism regarding cause of gas explosion:

Tuesday, March 7, 2000 IN BRIEF: Terrorist Bombings?

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MAKHACHKALA, Dagestan -- A gas pipeline explosion in Chechnya was the result of a terrorist bomb attack, according to a statement from natural gas monopoly Gazprom on Monday.

Several bombs exploded simultaneously in the attack in the Shelkovskoi region of northern Chechnya on Saturday, destroying 130 meters of a pipeline, the statement said. The blasts halted gas supplies to northern Chechnya and Dagestan and forced the region to rely on reserve supplies over the weekend.

A repair team from the Dagestan regional branch of Gazprom was working to repair the damage on Monday, according to the statement.

http://www.moscowtimes.ru/07-Mar-2000/stories/story12.html

-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), March 07, 2000