3 nabbed over Belarus metro blast

Belarusian police officers inspect a young man's bag.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/174702.html

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko says three detained suspects have confessed to their involvement in a metro bombing in the capital Minsk that killed a dozen people on Monday.

"Today ... the crime was solved. The [state security service] KGB and police needed just one day ... to carry out a brilliant operation and detain the perpetrators," Reuters quoted Lukashenko as saying on Wednesday.

"We must look into statements made by political actors...Maybe these actors from the 'fifth column' will open their cards and point to the one who ordered (the attack)," he added.

The remarks came on a day that the ex-Soviet republic held mourning ceremonies for the victims of the April 11 metro blast in Minsk, which reportedly killed 12 people and wounded 150 others.

Chairman of the State Security Committee of Belarus Vadim Zaitsev said earlier that a man in his mid-20s was arrested and confessed to being involved in the bombing. He also stated that two other suspects have also confessed to their involvement in the subway attack.

Meanwhile, the Belarusian president said that the three suspects were also behind a bomb blast at a concert in Minsk in July 2008, which wounded about 50 people, and two other bombings in September 2005 that wounded more than 45 people in the city of Vitebsk.

"The detained criminals have confessed not only to carrying out the terrorist act in the Minsk metro. They are also responsible for the previous Independence Day and Vitebsk terrorist acts," Lukashenko noted.

The UN Security Council on Wednesday condemned in the strongest terms the attack at the subway station, saying "any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable."

Metro blast kills 11 in Belarus capital

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko at the blast site inside the Oktyabrskaya subway station in Belarus capital, Minsk, on April 11, 2011

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/174279.html

At least 11 people have been killed and more than 100 injured by an explosion in a subway station near Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's office in Minsk.

Smoke was seen rising from the Oktyabrskaya metro station in the city center on Monday and casualties were being taken out to the surface, AFP reported.

"Eleven people died as a result of the explosion," Interfax quoted Lukashenko as saying.

The Belarusian president blamed anonymous political opponents for the deadly incident in an emergency security session.

"I warned you that they won't let us live a calm life," said Lukashenko. "We have been presented with a serious challenge. We need an adequate response -- and it must be found."

While he said he could not rule out a foreign hand in the attacks, Lukashenko added, "I do not exclude that this is a present from abroad but we must look at home too."

The blast came amid severe economic conditions that have made the Belarusian government execute partial currency devaluation.

Medvedev vows probe into Moscow blast

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/161825.html


Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has pledged to launch an investigation into the terrorist attack at Moscow's busiest airport, which killed dozens of people.

Medvedev said a commission of inquiry will carry out an investigation in order to find out more information about the deadly blast at Domodedovo International Airport. He said obviously there have been lapses as appropriate legislation was passed after similar events, a Press TV correspondent in Moscow reported early on Tuesday.

The Russian leader was making reference to two bomb attacks in August 2004, when female Chechen bombers blew up two planes as they took off from Domodedovo Airport, killing a total of 90 people.

“From the preliminary information we have, it was a terror attack. Security should be tightened at all airports and other transport facilities in Russia,” Medvedev said at an emergency meeting on Monday.

The Russian president also postponed his departure to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, after the bombing.

At least 35 people were killed and another 130 people were injured after a massive explosion ripped through the international arrivals hall of Domodedovo Airport on Monday afternoon, state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported.

Reports say that 76 injured people remain in hospital and many of the wounded are in critical condition.

Spokesman for the Russian Investigative Committee Vladimir Markin told Press TV late on Monday that police were working to establish the bomber's identity and how he managed to get inside the airport.

Initial reports suggest the explosion could have been caused by an explosive device containing up to seven kilograms of TNT.

Scores killed in Moscow airport blast

Ambulances are seen outside a terminal at Domodedovo airport, Moscow, Monday, Jan. 24, 2011.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/161742.html


At least 35 people have been killed in an explosion at Moscow's Domodedovo International Airport -- the busiest in the Russian capital.

The blast, which occurred at one of the airport's international arrivals halls, has also left 130 people injured.

People were evacuated from the airport after reports of large amounts of smoke near a baggage carousel.

"According to preliminary information, the explosive device was set off by a…bomber in the international departures hall," Interfax news agency quoted the unnamed security source as saying.

Moscow police have stepped up security across the city after the explosion.

At least 35 people have been killed in the blast, airport spokeswoman Yelena Galanova said on national television.

"All the patrols are looking for suspicious people and objects in public places," an unnamed law enforcement official told Interfax. "They are paying particular attention to transport."

Following the incident, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered a special security measures to be taken across the country's transport hubs.

Medvedev has postponed his visit to the World Economic Forum in Davos, planned for this week, as a result of the blast, Kremlin spokeswoman Natalya Timakova said.

Spokespeople for the city's two other passenger airports said security measures were heightened after the blast with all luggage being searched and staff examining footage from security cameras in the terminals.

The airport is 40 km (25 miles) south-east of the city center, and is popular with foreign workers and tourists flying into the city.

Double bombings carried out by two female bombers on the Moscow metro on March 29, 2010, killed 40 and wounded more than 100.