A MINIBUS EXPLODED IN MOLDOVA'S SEPARATIST DNESTR REGION ON THURSDAY, KILLING EIGHT PEOPLE ON BOARD, AND OFFICIALS SAID THEY COULD NOT RULE OUT THE POSSIBILITY THE BLAST WAS CAUSED BY A BOMB, REUTERS REPORTED. DNESTR'S HARDLINE SLAV LEADERS DECLARED INDEPENDENCE IN 1990 IN SOVIET TIMES TO PRECLUDE WHAT THEY SAW AS ATTEMPTS BY MOLDOVA'S ETHNIC ROMANIAN MAJORITY TO JOIN ROMANIA TO THE SOUTH. THE SEPARATISTS FOUGHT A BRIEF WAR WITH MOLDOVA IN 1992 AFTER THE COLLAPSE OF SOVIET RULE. RUSSIAN TROOPS SEPARATED THE SIDES AND ALL ATTEMPTS TO MEDIATE SINCE HAVE FAILED. OLVIA NEWS AGENCY, THE OFFICIAL SOURCE OF NEWS IN THE REGION ENJOYING NO INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION, SAID THE MINI-BUS BLEW UP AT ABOUT 7 A.M. AT AN INTERSECTION IN THE MAIN TOWN OF TIRASPOL. "EIGHT PEOPLE WERE KILLED. OTHERS ARE INJURED. THE REASONS FOR THE EXPLOSION ARE BEING INVESTIGATED," THE AGENCY REPORTED. OLVIA QUOTED EYEWITNESSES AS SAYING THAT THE BLAST OCCURRED WHILE THE MINIBUS, A COMMON FORM OF URBAN TRANSPORT IN EX-SOVIET STATES, STOOD NEXT TO A TROLLEYBUS AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT. DNESTR'S DEPUTY INTERIOR MINISTRY, OLEG BELYAKOV, TOLD THE AGENCY IDENTIFICATION OF THE DEAD WAS PROVING DIFFICULT AS BODY PARTS HAD BEEN SCATTERED OVER A WIDE AREA. "ABOUT 10 PEOPLE INSIDE THE TROLLEYBUS WERE INJURED," HE WAS QUOTED AS SAYING. "THIS COULD HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY AN EXPLOSIVE DEVICE CARRIED INSIDE THE TAXI. IT COULD HAVE BEEN SET OFF BY ACCIDENT OR DELIBERATELY."
