Witnesses said the market was filled with people shopping for food or sitting at open-air cafes. One missile hit a packed bus, killing and wounding many of the passengers. Another missile hit a nearby maternity clinic, killing some 30 people, including new-born babies and mothers who had just given birth. Dozens of people were still awaiting medical care in dilapidated hospitals. At least 20 people injured in the attacks died overnight and more are seriously injured.
Medical supplies are largely unavailable and the city is without adequate water or electricity.
Also on Thursday, Russian police arrested the Moscow representative of Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov. Mayrbek Vachagayev was reportedly arrested at his central Moscow apartment by a police division responsible for organised crime. But military spokesman Alexander Veklich initially admitted to the bombing, while denying that any civilians were in the market, which he claimed functioned as an arms bazaar. A special operation destroyed the arms market together with all weapons, explosives and arms peddlers. On Friday, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin repudiated this statement, claiming the blast was the result of in-fighting among Chechen separatists.