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At Least 35 Killed In Suspected Suicide Bombing At Moscow Airport

Last updated (GMT/UTC): 24.01.2011 19:00

By Kevin O'Flynn

MOSCOW -- At least 35 people have been killed and 130 injured in an explosion at Russia's busiest airport -- a blast that investigators say was caused by a terrorist bomber.

Eyewitnesses described scenes of carnage after the blast ripped through the international arrivals hall near the baggage claims area at Moscow's Domodedovo airport.

"I was sitting about 30 or 40 meters from the explosion," eyewitness Sergei Lavochkin told Russian television by telephone from Domodedovo. "I heard a loud noise and saw some plastic slabs falling from above. I heard screams and saw smoke. There was panic. People who had been sitting there started running away."

An unnamed security official told Russian news agencies that the explosion appears to have been the work of a suicide bomber. Interfax reported that the head of the suspected bomber had been found.

Grisly Video

A video posted on YouTube shows smoke and small fires inside the airport in the aftermath of the blast. A number of bodies can be seen lying on the floor. One man in a suit walks dazed through the carnage, pushing a luggage cart.

Another eyewitness named Andrei spoke to City AM radio station after the attack. “Burned people are running about…They are carrying pieces of flesh on stretchers. Something terrible is happening there. Tens of people are being dragged out on stretchers, on trolleys."

A pool of frozen blood could be seen on the ground outside the airport.

Hours after the bombing, Domodedovo Airport spokeswoman Yelena Galanova told journalists that flights had resumed.

"The airport is functioning normally now, both for departures and arrivals. Departures have not been delayed because the site of the explosion is far from check-in desks and from where baggage is processed, so departures have not been affected," Galanova said.

"We were closed for arrivals for some time and six flights were sent to backup airports, but now operations have been fully normalized and flights continue to arrive," she added.

As evening fell, the injured were still being transported from the airport, according to RFE/RL correspondent Yury Timofeev, who was at the scene.

President Dmitry Medvedev condemned what he called a terrorist attack and vowed to punish those responsible. He also ordered tightened security measures across the country.

The number of police patroling the Moscow metro was significantly increased after a March 2010 terror attack in which 40 people died.

Ria Novosti quoted a law enforcement official as saying that police had received advance warning of a possible terrorist attack. The unnamed source told the news agency that "agents were looking for three suspects” and that apparently two escaped just after the suicide bomber detonated the explosives.

He said the suicide bomber was probably driven to the airport by an accomplice and once inside, headed for the second floor, where there are no metal detectors.

Security Questioned

The attack has already triggered questions about the competence of the Russian security services and police.

Sergei Goncharov, a veteran of the elite Soviet special services unit called Alfa, told RFE/RL’s Russian Service, “If a suicide bomber can bring 5 kilograms of explosive into Domodedovo, past all [security] checks, then it says once again that our law enforcement organs cannot ensure [public] safety.”

Police say they are looking for three suspects described as being from the North Caucasus.

The Kremlin is struggling to contain an Islamist insurgency in the mainly Muslim North Caucasus. Militants there have vowed to take their struggle to the heart of Russia.

In the hours following the attack, Medvedev postponed plans to travel to the Davos economic conference in Switzerland.

The blast also deals a setback to Russia’s attempts to polish its image on the world stage as it prepares to host the 2014 Winter Olympics and 2018 World Cup.

'Barbaric Act'

Western leaders condemned the blast.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs quoted U.S. President Barack Obama as calling the attack "outrageous."

NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen expressed the Western alliance's "solidarity" with Russia and called for more cooperation between Moscow and the alliance in the fight against terrorism.

European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek expressed sympathy to the people of Russia, saying, "Terrorism and violence can never be justified."

France and Germany called the attack a "barbaric" act.

Domodedovo handles more passengers and cargo than any other airport in Russia. More than 22 million passengers pass through the facility a year. There are 77 airlines, many of them international, working from the airport.

with contributions from RFE/RL's Russian Service and agency reports

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/moscow_airport_blast/2285735.html

Copyright (c) 2011. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.