Vedomosti
Terror attack at Moscow’s Domodedovo airport kills 35
Over 30 people have died in a bomb attack at Moscow’s Domodedovo airport on Monday. Security services had received no specific warnings about the attack.
The blast struck at 4:37 p.m. on Monday in the crowded international arrivals area of Domodedovo airport, where relatives and friends were waiting to welcome inbound travelers. According to the police the suicide bomber’s explosive device had a TNT equivalent of over five kilos and was stuffed with pieces of metal to cause maximum human casualties. The bomber was able to enter freely: people coming to the airport to meet and greet travelers do not have to pass through security.
Russia’s Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case under the articles “terrorist act,” “illegal trafficking in explosives” and “murder,” a spokesperson said. By the time this paper went to print, the toll was 35 dead and over 150 injured, according to the National Anti-Terrorism Committee. As many as 53 people were hospitalized in Moscow and the surrounding area.
President Dmitry Medvedev held a meeting in the immediate aftermath of the attack. He instructed law enforcement agencies to investigate and to boost security on public transport, while Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told his staff to ensure the victims were given all necessary assistance. No personnel changes are planned as yet, said Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov: “So far, all efforts are focused on helping the victims.”
Presidents Barack Obama of the United States and Nicolas Sarkozy of France were among the many world leaders who spoke out to denounce the attack.
On New Year’s Eve and shortly afterwards, police at Domodedovo were on high alert - following weather-related disruption, but for several days prior to the blast things had returned to normal. There was no prior warning of any possible terror attack, according to an Interior Ministry spokesman and airport security staff.
Several dozen warnings are received each year about possible terrorist attacks in Moscow but not all of them are true. This time, no concrete information was available, the security man added.
After the explosion, transport police across Moscow were put on high alert. Two flights were rerouted from Domodedovo to Sheremetyevo, said airport spokesperson Anna Zakharenkova. Lufthansa cancelled two flights while Austrian Airlines and BA cancelled one each.
One can, of course, sue Domodedovo for its inadequate security, as welcoming parties are not inspected on entering the arrivals hall, but that would be senseless. Given the security situation across Moscow, there are a vast number of places vulnerable to attack, says Arkady Livshits, general director of Arli Spetstekhnika, a company that manufactures anti-terrorist equipment.
The security and especially the intelligence services can be blamed for failing to prevent the attack, said Gennady Gudkov, deputy head of the State Duma’s security committee. But no amount of efforts by anti-terrorist squads can ward off 100% of attacks, especially given the existing levels of corruption in government and the police terrorists will, unfortunately, keep finding opportunities to make their deadly impact.
Izvestia
Domodedovo attack linked to Manezh Square riots?
Investigators believe the deadly blast which killed at least 35 and injured 130 at Moscow’s Domodedovo airport was a terror attack - either one of a series planned by Islamic extremists or in revenge for recent ethnically motivated protests in Moscow.
Police say the head of a man, of Arabic appearance aged 30-35 was found intact at the bomb site. This supports the above theory: it most likely belongs either to the suicide bomber or to someone who was very close to the bomb. They also believe he was wearing a “suicide vest,” not a “belt.”
The Domodedovo blast could have been a second attempt after the December 31 explosion which destroyed a small sports club building in southeastern Moscow. The woman killed in the blast was identified as the wife of an imprisoned North Caucasus militant. Investigators eventually tracked down three Chechen residents who could have masterminded the attack and possibly been preparing another one.
The bomb was believed to have been packed with shrapnel, although the police haven’t found any small metallic objects. However, the attackers could have used small rocks, which are just as deadly, as seen in the Vladikavkaz attack of 1999.
“It is impossible to get a bomb into departures,” a customs officer told Izvestia. “But it is easy to get into arrivals because there is no scanner at the entrance.”
A Domodedovo border guard confirmed that the attacker must have been wearing the explosives when he joined the crowd of people meeting arriving passengers, because even at arrivals a large bag could have attracted attention.
Indeed, until recently, airport security systems were focused on preventing bombs and weapons from getting on board airplanes. These terrorists took a different approach.
Investigators have also suggested there were two explosions, and some eyewitnesses confirmed they heard two blasts. Also, the multiple leg wounds among those injured suggest there was a second bomb in a bag on the floor, in addition to the “vest” the man was wearing. It appears one of the bombs went off at the Asia Café, near the entrance, and the other closer to the arrivals area, because there were bodies there as well - they were too far away to have been killed by the first explosion.
The terrorists must have arrived by car, because the trains are patrolled by the police and they could have been intercepted on their way to the arrivals lounge.
Investigators specializing in terrorist attacks are also trying to establish the motive for this crime. They have not ruled out the possibility that it was committed in revenge for the December 11 ethnically motivated protests on Moscow’s Manezh Square, which were sparked by the death of Spartak football fan Yegor Sviridov in a brawl with people from the North Caucasus.
Russia’s Federal Security Service was reportedly aware of a suicide bomber in the city, and searched Zelenograd, a town in the north of Moscow, for the suspected bomber. No official confirmation followed.
Moskovsky Komsomolets
How a suicide bomber got into Domodedovo
Domodedovo airport has a reputation for being the safest and most secure airport in Moscow. Officials will tell us this in the near future. It's a lie.
According to preliminary information, the explosion occurred in the international arrivals hall. A terrorist would have no problems getting there from the street.
Here's how he was able to do it. He arrives by car from Moscow. Crosses the barrier in front of the airport, takes a ticket for the parking lot. Further to the right, he drives into the public parking area. Once parked, he is free to exit the parking lot and walk into the international arrivals hall.
At the airport entrance there is a police post manned by two officers and equipped with a door-frame metal detector. I have been to Domodedovo a dozen times recently and can say from firsthand experience that the detector never works. People walk past the police officer and the metal detector and nobody stops them.
Then he takes an elevator or stairs to the first floor. Turn left and you’re in the international arrivals hall. This area is nominally separated from the customs terminal with a blue cordon. It's always overcrowded, and people don’t stay behind the cordon. From time to time an East Line security guard [East Line is the company that has the airport contract] comes over and asks everyone to stay behind the cordon, but as soon as they leave, and they’re quick to leave, people once again spread out, filling the entire area in front of the exit. The pushiest individuals can even go inside the customs terminal, which they do. There is no security at the terminal entrance.
So if the suicide bombing scenario is confirmed, it should be understood that there was nothing to stop the attacker from entering the airport.
RIA Novosti is not responsible for the content of outside sources.
