NICOSIA, CYPRUS
CAR BOMB KILLS SCORES
A car bomb exploded in a busy market yesterday in the Kurdish self-rule enclave of northern Iraq, reportedly killing as many as 80 people.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing in Zakho, a town near the Turkish border.
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan reported as many as 80 people were killed and dozens were wounded. Its rival, the Kurdistan Democratic Party, said 73 people died and 141 were wounded.
The bomb that exploded at about 9 a.m. in Zakho's main market contained an estimated 220 to 330 pounds of TNT, said Hoshyar Zebari, London-based spokesman for the Kurdistan Democratic Party.
MOZDOK, RUSSIA
GROZNY SURROUNDED
Russian forces have completely encircled Grozny for the first time since the separatist war began and expect to rid the Chechen capital of the last rebels within days, Russia's military command said yesterday.
The Chechens now control only the southwestern part of Grozny, a district known as Chernorechye. As many as 200 Russian armored vehicles and 50 tanks reportedly have circled the area since Sunday.
Russia has claimed before to control most of the city but said yesterday in a government statement that its troops have completed a second ring around Grozny, thus "fully excluding the possibility" of rebel reinforcements coming in.
