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Second Blast Hits Russia, Raising Olympic Fears Second Blast Hits Russia, Raising Olympic Fears
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MOSCOW — President Vladimir V. Putin ordered security to be tightened across Russia after a suicide bombing on a trolley bus in Volgograd killed at least 15 people and wounded dozens on Monday, the second bombing in the city in two days.MOSCOW — President Vladimir V. Putin ordered security to be tightened across Russia after a suicide bombing on a trolley bus in Volgograd killed at least 15 people and wounded dozens on Monday, the second bombing in the city in two days.
The bomb exploded during the morning rush hour, a little more than a mile and a half from Volgograd’s main railroad station, where a suicide bomber detonated a backpack filled with explosives and shrapnel on Sunday. name="allowFullScreen" value="true"> name="seamlessTabbing" value="false"> name="swliveconnect" value="true"> name="wmode" value="transparent"> name="quality" value="high"> name="bgcolor" value="#000000">
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itemprop="articleBody" class="caption">Scenes from Volgograd, where an explosion on a trolley bus killed at least 15 people on Monday. The attack came a day after a suicide bombing at the city’s main railroad station.

The twin bombings appeared to be part of a deadly campaign of terror ahead of the Winter Olympics, which are scheduled to begin in six weeks in Sochi, a resort on the Black Sea only 400 miles away.
Together, the attacks killed at least 32 people and sowed panic across the country, prompting false reports of other bombings and the brief evacuation of Red Square in Moscow after a woman left a package or bag near St. Basil’s Cathedral.
Mr. Putin made no public remarks by Monday evening, but he held a series of meetings with senior government and security officials, according to the Kremlin. He also dispatched the chief of the Federal Security Service, Aleksandr V. Bortnikov, to Volgograd to oversee the investigation and enhanced security measures.
“I think we will be able to solve these crimes, particularly because we have some clues,” Mr. Bortnikov said after arriving there, without elaborating. He said that additional security had been deployed at public places, including the city’s transportation and energy facilities.
Vladimir I. Markin, a spokesman for the main national criminal investigation agency in Russia, the Investigative Committee, said a man carried out the second attack, detonating a bomb with more than eight pounds of explosives on Trolley Bus No. 15, which witnesses said was full of morning commuters. The force of the blast tore the bus open, hurling bodies into the street and breaking windows in nearby five-story apartment buildings.
In a statement on the committee’s website, Mr. Markin said the bombs used in both attacks were similar, packed with shrapnel to make them more lethal. He cited that as evidence that the two attacks were connected. “It’s possible they were prepared in one place,” he said of the bombs.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but they have renewed attention on a threat issued in July by Doku Umarov, the Chechen leader who heads the Caucasus Emirate, a nebulous organization that seeks to carve an independent state out of Russia’s mostly Muslim republics in the south. In a video, he called on his followers to do whatever possible to disrupt the Olympics in Sochi, which begin on Feb. 7.
Aleksandr D. Zhukov, the president of Russia’s Olympic Committee and the first deputy speaker of Parliament, said that all necessary security measures had been taken to protect athletes and visitors in Sochi. “No additional security measures will be taken in Sochi in light of the terrorist attack,” he said, according to the Interfax news agency. “Everything necessary has been done.”
His remarks did not address the threat outside of Sochi, however. With security already heavily tightened there, experts have warned that insurgents who want to disrupt the Olympics might turn instead to “softer” targets elsewhere.
The bombings prompted political recriminations that, in Mr. Putin’s Russia, have generally been fairly muted except among his most ardent critics. Sergei M. Mironov, a member of Parliament who has been a close ally of Mr. Putin’s, called for the resignation of the governor of the Volgograd region, Sergei A. Borzhenov.
Sergei S. Mitrokhin, the leader of the liberal Yabloko party, which is usually more critical of the Kremlin, called for an investigation into any security lapses that might have allowed the attacks to occur, and suggested that the security services spent more time harassing political opponents than fighting terrorists and other criminals. “Society must know what the security services are doing these days,” he said in a statement.Sergei S. Mitrokhin, the leader of the liberal Yabloko party, which is usually more critical of the Kremlin, called for an investigation into any security lapses that might have allowed the attacks to occur, and suggested that the security services spent more time harassing political opponents than fighting terrorists and other criminals. “Society must know what the security services are doing these days,” he said in a statement.
Suicide bombings have become a favored tactic of Mr. Umarov’s fighters and other Islamic extremists along Russia’s southern frontier in the North Caucasus, though for a time Mr. Umarov’s group observed a sort of cease-fire.Suicide bombings have become a favored tactic of Mr. Umarov’s fighters and other Islamic extremists along Russia’s southern frontier in the North Caucasus, though for a time Mr. Umarov’s group observed a sort of cease-fire.
Mr. Markin initially said that the attack on the railroad station had been carried out by a woman — and some news organizations published her name and gruesome photographs of her severed head — but by Monday officials suggested that both attacks had been carried out by men.Mr. Markin initially said that the attack on the railroad station had been carried out by a woman — and some news organizations published her name and gruesome photographs of her severed head — but by Monday officials suggested that both attacks had been carried out by men.
Officials braced themselves for more attacks, while residents in Volgograd expressed fear of taking any form of public transportation.Officials braced themselves for more attacks, while residents in Volgograd expressed fear of taking any form of public transportation.
Monday’s attack was the third suicide bombing in Volgograd in recent months. In October, a woman identified as Naida Asiyalova detonated a vest of explosives aboard a bus in the city, killing herself and six others.Monday’s attack was the third suicide bombing in Volgograd in recent months. In October, a woman identified as Naida Asiyalova detonated a vest of explosives aboard a bus in the city, killing herself and six others.
In that case, the authorities said she was linked by marriage to an explosives expert working with an Islamic group in Dagestan, a republic in southern Russia where the police have struggled to suppress Islamic extremism that, according to experts, is only loosely linked with Mr. Umarov’s organization. A month later, the authorities announced that they had killed her husband and four others in a raid. But the attack on Sunday indicated that the threat was far from extinguished.In that case, the authorities said she was linked by marriage to an explosives expert working with an Islamic group in Dagestan, a republic in southern Russia where the police have struggled to suppress Islamic extremism that, according to experts, is only loosely linked with Mr. Umarov’s organization. A month later, the authorities announced that they had killed her husband and four others in a raid. But the attack on Sunday indicated that the threat was far from extinguished.
It is not clear why suicide bombers have now three times chosen targets in Volgograd, a city of a million people that was formerly called Stalingrad, the site of one of the crucial battles of World War II. It is the nearest major Russian city to the Caucasus, and a transportation hub connecting the region to major cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg.It is not clear why suicide bombers have now three times chosen targets in Volgograd, a city of a million people that was formerly called Stalingrad, the site of one of the crucial battles of World War II. It is the nearest major Russian city to the Caucasus, and a transportation hub connecting the region to major cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg.
“You can see it as a gateway out of the Northern Caucasus, which shows that it is possible to reach other destinations,” said Grigory Shvedov, editor in chief of the Caucasian Knot, a website that closely tracks violence in the region. “If they can reach Volgograd, they can show that the Northern Caucasus is not protected by a great Chinese wall that is not allowing terrorists to get out.”“You can see it as a gateway out of the Northern Caucasus, which shows that it is possible to reach other destinations,” said Grigory Shvedov, editor in chief of the Caucasian Knot, a website that closely tracks violence in the region. “If they can reach Volgograd, they can show that the Northern Caucasus is not protected by a great Chinese wall that is not allowing terrorists to get out.”

Reporting was contributed by Nikolai Khalip and Viktor Klimenko from Moscow, and Michael S. Schmidt from Washington.

Reporting was contributed by Nikolai Khalip and Viktor Klimenko from Moscow, and Michael S. Schmidt from Washington.