Moscow ? Two women strapped with explosives blew themselves up at a crowded outdoor rock festival Saturday, killing at least 16 people, officials and media said. The attack revived fears that rebels are intent on bringing the Chechen war to the Russian capital.

The first blast went off at one of the entrances to the festival at the Tushino airfield in suburban Moscow as the Russian band Crematorium played for an estimated 40,000 people. Another went off about 10 minutes later as spectators exited through another gate.

Moscow city police spokesman Valery Gribakin said 14 people were killed, not counting the two female bombers, who also died. He said about 60 people were wounded. NTV television and the Interfax news agency reported that two more blast victims died later in hospitals, but that could not immediately be confirmed.

Interior Minister Boris Gryzlov said suspicions pointed to Chechen rebels. News reports said a passport found at the bombing site identified a Chechen woman.

The attack came hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order setting presidential elections in Chechnya for Oct. 5.

The elections are the latest step in Putin’s strategy of trying to bring a political resolution in the breakaway Caucasus republic. But rebel attacks have undercut Kremlin efforts to portray the situation in the war-shattered region as stabilizing.

One bomber has been identified, First Deputy Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev said without elaborating.

Gribakin said 13 sets of identification papers — including passports, train tickets and student identifications — were found at the blast sites and most were matched up with those killed.

The White House strongly condemned the attack and offered condolences from President Bush to the victims and their families.

A couple who suspect a relative may have been wounded in a suicide bombing at a rock festival wait for news outside a hospital in Moscow. Two female suicide bombers blew themselves up Saturday at a giant rock concert in suburban Moscow, killing at least 16 people, Russian officials said.

“No cause justifies terrorism, and as long as innocents are threatened by terror, the fight against this evil will continue,” said a statement issued by Bush’s press secretary, Ari Fleischer. “The civilized nations of the world will prevail.”

Guards at the festival entrances were suspicious of the women bombers and prevented them from entering the grounds, Nurgaliyev said.

“When they approached the entrance, their agitation was visible. They tried to get in too fast and were turned away,” he said.

Most of the casualties were believed to be caused by the second blast, officials said.