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Volgograd train station rocked by apparent suicide bombing Volgograd train station rocked by apparent suicide bombing
(about 5 hours later)
Fifteen people are feared killed and another 50 injured in an apparent suicide bombing in the southern Russian city of Volgograd, highlighting the region's security vulnerability just six weeks from the Winter Olympics. Sixteen people are feared dead and another 50 injured after a suicide bombing at a railway station in the southern Russian city of Volgograd that highlighted the region's security vulnerability just six weeks before the Winter Olympics.
The blast ripped through a railway station building in an area between the entrance and the metal frames installed as a precaution against terror attacks. The authorities said the prime suspect was a woman, raising the spectre once again of the "black widow" attacks perpetrated by young Caucasus women widowed by Russia's protracted military effort to tame the region. The blast ripped through an area between the station entrance and metal frames that had been installed as a precaution against terror attacks. The authorities said the prime suspect was a woman, raising the spectre of more "black widow" attacks perpetrated by young Caucasus women widowed by Russia's protracted military efforts to "tame" the region.
CCTV video shows a bright flash of light inside the station building as the camera, located several hundred metres across the square, shakes from the impact. A cloud of smoke emerges seconds later. CCTV video shows a bright flash of light inside the station building as the camera, located several hundred metres across the square, shakes from the impact. A cloud of smoke emerges seconds later. Pictures on social networks show people trying to help the injured lying on ice-covered ground in front of the palatial Stalin-era station building, its windows smashed by the blast.
Pictures published on social networks show people trying to help the injured lying on ice-covered ground in front of the palatial Stalin-era station building, its windows smashed by the blast. Witnesses report seeing many dead bodies near the station entrance. The emergencies ministry sent specially equipped aircraft to take people with the worst injuries to medical centres in Moscow, where they can get better treatment. Among the dead were a 12-year-old boy, whose father survived but lost a leg. Witnesses reported seeing many corpses bodies near the entrance. "I heard the blast and ran towards it," a witness, Vladimir, told Rossiya-24. "I saw melted, twisted bits of metal, broken glass and bodies lying on the street."
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, ordered law enforcement agencies to take all necessary measures to ensure security after the blast. A federal police spokesman, Vladimir Kolesnikov, said security would be stepped up at train stations and airports. The emergencies ministry sent specially equipped aircraft to take those with the worst injuries to Moscow hospitals, where they could get better treatment. President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences and sent a deputy prime minister, Olga Golodets, to the scene. He also ordered law enforcement agencies to take all necessary measures to ensure security. A federal police spokesman, Vladimir Kolesnikov, said security would be stepped up at railway stations and airports.
A statement by the Russian national anti-terrorist committee said the explosion was presumed to have been caused by a female suicide bomber. A criminal case has been launched under the "terrorism" and "illegal handling of weapons" clauses of the Russian criminal code. A statement by the Russian national anti-terrorist committee said the explosion was presumed to have been caused by a female suicide bomber, amid reports that the attacker's head had been retrieved. One report identified the perpetrator as a Dagestani woman by the name of Oksana Aslanova, widow of a militant.
A spokesman for the committee said the frames placed at the entrances of all Russian train stations and airports – a security measure often ridiculed in the Russian media – had prevented more casualties. A train from Moscow was due to arrive half an hour after the explosion took place. A criminal case has been launched under the terrorism and illegal handling of weapons clauses of the Russian criminal code.
Volgograd, previously called Stalingrad, is a railway hub on the route connecting European Russia with central Asia. It is something of a gateway to the Caucasus, and 600 miles from Sochi, the Black Sea city where the Winter Olympics are scheduled to start on 7 February. Russian authorities have insisted there will be no security threats to the event, despite the fact that the city lies just west of the restive North Caucasus region. In July Doku Umarov, the leader of the remaining Chechen jihadist groups, warned that militants would try sabotage the Games. Russian media reports, quoting law-enforcement sources, said that the explosion happened after a police officer tried to stop a suspicious young woman near security gates installed to prevent guns and explosives being taken inside the station. Security officials expressed hope that the bomber would be soon identified.
The city was the scene of a blast two months ago on a crowded bus. That attack was also blamed on a female suicide bomber from Dagestan, a few hundred miles from Volgograd. Soldiers found an unexploded grenade at the scene, Vladimir Markin, an investigative committee spokesman, told the news agency RIA. He said the metal frames installed at the entrances of all Russian railway stations and airports – a security measure often ridiculed in the Russian media – had prevented more casualties. A train from Moscow was due to arrive half an hour after the explosion took place.
Another explosion killed three people near a police station in the North Caucasus city of Pyatigorsk on Friday. Volgograd, formerly Stalingrad, is a railway hub on the route connecting European Russia with central Asia. It acts as a gateway to the Caucasus, and is 600 miles from Sochi, the Black Sea city where the Olympics are scheduled to start on 7 February. Russian authorities have insisted there will be no security threats to the event, despite the city lying just west of the restive North Caucasus region. In July Doku Umarov, leader of the remaining Chechen jihadist groups, warned that militants would try sabotage the Games.
A man wearing a suicide bomber's explosive-packed belt was arrested in the Stavropol region, also southern Russia, in November. A Russian security expert, Andrey Soldatov, said the attack showed militants operating in the North Caucasus region had "the capability and enough people to stage bombing attacks" on the eve of the Sochi Olympics. "The symbolism is in the fact that the militants are capable of staging attacks beyond the North Caucasus. The tactical significance is that security forces will now have to divert their attention from Sochi to other regions of Russia."
It was unlikely the Kremlin would need to reconsider security in Sochi, Soldatov added. But it will have to take into account the possibility of attacks taking place elsewhere around the country.Volgograd was the scene of a blast two months ago on a crowded bus, an attack also blamed on a female suicide bomber, from Dagestan, a few hundred miles from Volgograd.
On Friday an explosion killed three people near a police station in the North Caucasus city of Pyatigorsk.
In November a man wearing an explosive-packed belt was arrested in the Stavropol area, also southern Russia.
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