The Full Story Behind The Female Suicide Bomber Who Killed At Least 18 In Southern Russia
Russia's preparations for the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi have been put on edge by deadly suicide bomb attacks in one of the biggest cities in southern Russia.
By Sadho Ram — 29 Dec 2013, 08:05 PM — Updated over 10 years ago
A Day After A Female Suicide Bomber Kills 18 People, A Second Blast in Russia Kills At Least 10 More
A bomb blast tore through a trolleybus in the city of Volgograd on Monday morning, killing at least 10 people a day after a suicide bombing that killed at least 18 at the city's main railway station.
nbcnews.com
The latest explosion occurred near a market in the Dzerzhinsky neighborhood. The Kremlin is concerned that militant groups may be intensifying attacks before the 2014 Winter Olympic Games begin in the city of Sochi in February.
time.com
"A criminal case has been launched after the explosion in the trolley bus in Volgograd," the Investigative Committee of Russia, the primary federal investigative agency in the country, said in a statement. "Preliminary findings show at least 10 are dead, 15 wounded."
nytimes.com![Bomb was reported to have been planted in the middle of the trolleybus [Reuters]](https://images.says.com/uploads/story_source/source_image/230776/87cb.jpeg)
Bomb was reported to have been planted in the middle of the trolleybus [Reuters]
Image via aljazeera.comThe National Anti-Terrorism Committee said the bus blast came from a bomb that most likely had been planted in the vehicle's passenger area, according to the Associated Press.
livemint.com
Yesterday, A Female Suicide Bomber Set Off A Blast In A Train Station In The Southern Russian City Of Volgograd That Killed At Least 18 People
Russia's anti-terrorism committee said a female suicide bomber was responsible for the explosion, which also injured around 50 people.
apa.az
Smoke billows out of the front of the station following the explosion (YOUTUBE)
Image via telegraph.co.ukThe blast, which ripped through the city’s main railway station just before 1pm local time, is the second to strike the city in just three months, underscoring the security threat to the up coming Sochi Olympics.
telegraph.co.ukThe bomb exploded at around 12:45pm local time (08:45 GMT). Footage from the scene shows bodies lying on the forecourt of the station.
Reports said that the dead included a policeman who attempted to stop or search the suicide bomber when she entered the station
The blast came 30 minutes before the arrival of the Moscow-Volgograd express, which was due to arrive at 13:16, adding to speculation that the attacker set of her device prematurely.
telegraph.co.uk
Provinces in southern Russia have been destabilised by attacks linked to Islamic rebels. (Reuters)
Image via indianexpress.comPresident Vladimir Putin is being kept abreast of the situation by the security services and has instructed special flights to be laid on to airlift the injured to Moscow clinics if necessary, the Kremlin has said.
independent.ie
Witnesses at the scene said that the explosion occurred near a metal detector at the entrance to the station, exploding between the front entrance and the turn-style
Regional officials said the woman set off her charge near the metal detectors stationed at the entrance to the city's main train station while it was packed with afternoon travellers.
"It was a very powerful blast," train station store attendant Valentina Petrichenko told the Vesti 24 rolling news channel.
telegraph.co.uk"Some people started running and others were thrown back by the wave of the blast," she said. "It was very scary."
A still image taken from video shows firefighters, Emergency Ministry members and medics working outside a train station near the site of an explosion in Volgograd December 29, 2013.
Image via reutersmedia.netState television footage showed windows blown off across the top two floors of the grey brick building and numerous ambulances gathered at the station's front entrance amid piles of debris and snow.
Russia's investigative committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said officials had launched an inquiry into a suspected "act of terror"
The city of Volgograd — known as Stalingrad in the Soviet era — was already attacked in October by a female suicide bomber with links to Islamists fighting federal forces in Russia's volatile North Caucasus.
thesundaytimes.co.uk
The Volgograd Mayor's Office released this photograph of medics helping wounded people at the entrance to the station. Photo: AP
Image via smh.com.auThe October 21 strike killed six people aboard a crowded bus and immediately raised security fears ahead of the February 7-23 Winter Games in Sochi.
telegraph.co.ukThe apparent bombing is the latest in a series of attacks that have underscored the on going threat from Russia’s Islamist insurgency in the run up to February’s Winter Olympics.
Volgograd, best known as the scene of the Second World War battle of Stalingrad, is a major transportation hub in southern Russia. Its railway station handles about 3,500 passengers a day
Although Volgograd is several hundred kilometres from the North Caucasus republics at the the heart of Russia’s Islamist insurgency, it is both more accessible target than Moscow or St Petersburg and lies outside the heavy security zone the Russian authorities have imposed around the Black Sea coast in the run up to the Olympics, making it a potentially attractive target for terrorists.
express.co.uk
For the past several years Russian security forces have been fighting a brutal counter insurgency in the North Caucasus, where a separatist Chechen guerrilla movement has mutated into a pan-Caucasian Islamist insurgency.
telegraph.co.uk