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Putin visits bomb-hit Volgograd

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  • Putin visits bomb-hit Volgograd

    Putin visits bomb-hit Volgograd

    12:01 - 01.01.14


    Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday made a pre-dawn visit to
    the city reeling from two suicide bombings this week, bringing
    gestures of sympathy for the victims and questions for the officials
    he has ordered to beef up security.

    The bombings at the main railway station of Volgograd and on a city
    trolleybus killed 34 people and wounded scores, 65 of whom are
    hospitalized.

    No claim of responsibility has been made for either attack, but they
    come a few months after the leader of an Islamic insurgency in
    Russia's south called for attacks in the run-up to February's Winter
    Olympics in the resort city of Sochi.

    "Whatever motivated the criminals' actions, there's no justification
    for committing crimes against civilians, especially against women and
    children, OK" Putin said, opening a meeting in Volgograd with the
    heads of the Federal Security Service and the Interior Ministry.

    He said he would ask the two officials in the closed-door session for
    details on what measures their agencies are taking to raise security
    in the country.

    Afterward, Putin placed a bouquet on the pile of flowers, balloons and
    other commemorative items that has risen at the site of the trolleybus
    bombing, then visited a hospital where some of the wounded are being
    treated.

    Volgograd, a city of about 1 million, has been under heavy security
    since the Sunday and Monday attacks. Police reinforcements and
    paramilitary troops were sent into the city.

    City authorities canceled public New Year's Eve gatherings and have
    closed movie theaters until Thursday.

    Olympic organizers have introduced some of the most extensive identity
    checks and other security measures ever seen at an international
    sporting event. But even if security at the games is tight, the
    Volgograd bombings show how public transit in Sochi and sites away
    from the sports venues are vulnerable.

    Suicide bombings have rocked Russia for years, but the insurgents
    seeking to create an Islamic state have largely confined their attacks
    to the North Caucasus region in recent years. The blasts in Volgograd
    signaled that militants want to show their reach outside their native
    region. Volgograd is about 300 kilometers (200 miles) north of the
    Caucasus and about 690 kilometers (430 miles) northeast of Sochi.



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