Both Blasts Occurred In Lavatories

As the investigation continues, Russian authorities are more and more convinced that bombs brought down a pair of Tupelov jetliners last week.

Or maybe they're not. It sort of depends on who you talk to.

Russia's transport minister said Monday that the black boxes recovered from the down Tu-134 and Tu-154 showed no indications of a hijacking attempt on board either aircraft.

A Russian security official, however, said Monday the crashes were undoubtedly the result of on board explosions. He also said the blasts occurred at the rear of both aircraft -- in the lavatories.

The remarks came as Russia's FSB -- successor to the KGB -- continued its search for clues about two Chechen women who bought tickets on each of the flights at the very last minute. Although most of the bodies of the 89 victims have been claimed, the bodies of those two women have not. Yet an official at the Chechen Interior Ministry said the two women had no ties with rebels who have claimed responsibility for bringing the jetliners down.

The cockpit voice recorder from the Sibir Airlines Tu-154 does indicate there was an explosion on board, according to Russian Transport Minister Igor Levitin. He said the crew on the flight deck fought to save the aircraft, but were unable to contact controllers. As for the crew members' last words, he said, "The words spoken by the crew members among themselves are (about) work by the crew to save the plane."

The head of the Scientific and Technical Department of Russian FSB, lieutenant general Andrei Fetisov, was quoted by Pravda as saying a search of the area where the Tu-154 went down revealed fragments of the fuselage that showed "noticeable signs of explosion.

"After the 10-hour [examination] of the fuselage," he continued, "the experts discovered that an explosion had taken place. However, the preliminary expertise of the TU-134 fuselage showed no signs of an explosion, and only the research of the fuselage inner part revealed the signs of damage of the armchairs and tables, and some fractions of the explosives were found."

FMI: www.fas.org/irp/world/russia/fsb