Suicide Bombing Kills 35 at Moscow Airport
At least 35 people have been killed and more than 145 others wounded in a suicide bombing that ripped through the international arrivals section of Moscow's main airport terminal Monday.
Witnesses said people covered in blood poured through the emergency exits. Video footage shows bodies lying around the smoke filled area, and victims being carried out of the Domodedovo airport on stretchers.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called it a terrorist attack, and vowed that those responsible would be tracked down and punished. Mr. Medvedev has ordered security heightened at all of Russia's transportation hubs.
U.S. President Barack Obama condemned the attack as “outrageous,” and offered U.S. support to Russia.
France and Germany have both called the bombing “barbaric.”
NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen also condemned the bombing and expressed the Western alliance's solidarity with Russia.
British foreign secretary William Hague expressed Britain's condolences for the relatives and victims of the attack.
The Interfax news agency quotes a law enforcement source as saying authorities are searching for three men in connection with the bombing.
Monday's attack was the worst in the Russian capital since a double suicide bombing killed at least 40 people in Moscow's metro last March.
The two women responsible for the metro attacks were from the Dagestan, a southern region torn by Islamic extremism.
Security procedures at Domodedovo have failed in the past.
In 2004, two suicide bombers boarded planes at the airport by illegally buying tickets from airport personnel. The bombers blew themselves up in mid-air, killing 90 people aboard the two flights.
Russia is battling an Islamic insurgency in the North Caucasus region, where there are near daily armed attacks on government and security officials.
Article by VOA News





