Terrorism in Volgograd: At least 26 dead in 24 hours
Moscow (AsiaNews / Agencies ) - At least 26 dead in 24 hours: This is the provisional toll from two explosions, which are considered "acts of terrorism" that occurred within 24 hours in Volgograd, less than six weeks from the Winter Olympics Sochi .
This morning at 8.10, during rush hour traffic, an explosion killed 10 people and wounded 15 , destroying the tram they were travelling on. Yesterday, a suicide bomber killed at least 16 people in an attack at one o'clock in the afternoon in the city's railway station . The explosion took place in front of the metal detector, away from the mass of waiting passengers, but also resulted in 35 injuries.
The attacks occur while Russia prepares to host the Winter Olympics in February, in Sochi, about 700 km from Volgograd. President Vladimir Putin has already decreed a step up in security measures, especially in airports and train stations.
Last October, again in Volgograd, a female suicide bomber killed six people in a bus. According to the Counter-Terrorism Committee, the woman had arrived from Dagestan an hour before the attack.
Initial reports reveal that yesterday's attack at the train station was also carried out by a woman. According to the website lifenews.ru , which published a photo of what is apparently a woman's head, she is Oksana Aslanova , twice married to two Islamist killed in battle against the armed forces in the North Caucasus .
In Dagestan and Chechnya there is a continuous war between Islamic militants and security forces linked to Moscow. The fundamentalists want to establish an Islamist state all over the Caucasus . Their leader, Doku Umarov , has ordered offensives against civilians outside the Caucasus and targeting the Sochi Olympics .
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