Woman bomber kills 1 in Uzbekistan

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan -- A woman detonated a bomb Thursday in central Uzbekistan, killing one person and critically injuring herself, and the government, for the first time, said al Qaeda, was behind this week's attacks that left at least 44 dead, mostly alleged militants.\nIlya Pyagay, the Interior Ministry's deputy anti-terrorism chief, told The Associated Press those behind the unrest, including some fugitives, were followers of the strict Wahhabi strain of Islam believed to have inspired Osama bin Laden.\n"These are Wahhabis who belong to one of the branches of the international al Qaeda terror group," he said.\nThe Uzbek government often uses the Wahhabi label to tar anyone who worships outside state-run mosques, and Western diplomats and human rights activists say official repression could actually be to blame for the violence. The government also uses alleged Wahhabi affiliation to refer to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan -- a terror group linked to al Qaeda that Uzbek officials say has been wiped out in the country.\nIn the latest violence Thursday, police said a woman detonated the bomb in a two-story apartment building in the central Bukhara region. She was hospitalized in critical condition, according to a police duty officer who declined to give her name.\nPolice said a man was killed, but Russia's ITAR-Tass news agency reported the woman's daughter was killed.\nThe officer said the blast was linked to Sunday's explosion at an alleged bomb-making hideaway in the same area. ITAR-Tass said the woman's husband was killed there, citing a law enforcement source.\nMeanwhile, police said a standoff ended early Thursday when a "lone bandit" blew himself up. Pyagay said there were no hostages, although police earlier had said several captives had been taken.\nAn Associated Press photographer saw a body being taken away Thursday as soldiers stood by, allowing only residents into the neighborhood.\nCiting Interior Ministry sources, ITAR-Tass reported the man had threatened to blow himself up with his wife and a child but that they were released after negotiations. Investigators believe he might have been trained in terrorist camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan, ITAR-Tass said.