Updated: 12:34 p.m. EST
A second suspected terrorist attack in the southern Russian city of Volgograd killed at least 14 people and injured many more early on Monday. The blast on a trolleybus came just one day after 17 people were killed in a suicide bombing at the city’s central train station.
The latest explosion occurred near a market in the Dzerzhinsky neighborhood, about 400 miles northeast of the city of Sochi, where the 2014 Winter Olympic Games will be held in February. The Kremlin is concerned that Chechen and other Islamic militants from the North Caucasus may be intensifying attacks ahead of the Olympics, and President Vladimir Putin has intensified security nationwide, Reuters reports. It’s still unclear why the city was targeted, though it has a symbolic significance as the location, under its former name of Stalingrad, of a turning-point battle against the Germans in World War II.
The International Olympic Committee said in a statement Monday it is still confident Russia will host Winter Games that are ”safe and secure.” The United States condemned the attacks and offered extra assistance to Russia to provide greater security at the games. “[W]e would welcome the opportunity for closer cooperation for the safety of the athletes, spectators, and other participants,” said the statement from National Security Council spokesperson Caitlin Hayden.
Vladimir Markin, spokesman of the Investigative Committee, released a statement Monday afternoon that linked the attacks as both used similar suicide devices. No one has yet claimed responsibility for either blast, which officials are treating as acts of terrorism.
[BBC]
This version has been updated from the original with the increased death toll and latest details.
Updated: 12:34 p.m. EST
A second suspected terrorist attack in the southern Russian city of Volgograd killed at least 14 people and injured many more early on Monday. The blast on a trolleybus came just one day after 17 people were killed in a suicide bombing at the city’s central train station.
The latest explosion occurred near a market in the Dzerzhinsky neighborhood, about 400 miles northeast of the city of Sochi, where the 2014 Winter Olympic Games will be held in February. The Kremlin is concerned that Chechen and other Islamic militants from the North Caucasus may be intensifying attacks ahead of the Olympics, and President Vladimir Putin has intensified security nationwide, Reuters reports. It’s still unclear why the city was targeted, though it has a symbolic significance as the location, under its former name of Stalingrad, of a turning-point battle against the Germans in World War II.
The International Olympic Committee said in a statement Monday it is still confident Russia will host Winter Games that are ”safe and secure.” The United States condemned the attacks and offered extra assistance to Russia to provide greater security at the games. “[W]e would welcome the opportunity for closer cooperation for the safety of the athletes, spectators, and other participants,” said the statement from National Security Council spokesperson Caitlin Hayden.
Vladimir Markin, spokesman of the Investigative Committee, released a statement Monday afternoon that linked the attacks as both used similar suicide devices. No one has yet claimed responsibility for either blast, which officials are treating as acts of terrorism.
[BBC]
This version has been updated from the original with the increased death toll and latest details.