CCTV footage shows the blast as passengers walked through the airport
The managers of the Moscow airport hit by an apparent suicide bomb attack must be held responsible for “clear security breaches”, Russia’s president has said.
Russian media say the bomber detonated some 7kg (15lb) of TNT explosives at Domodedovo airport, killing 35 people and injuring more than 100.
“Someone had to try very hard to carry or bring through such a vast amount of explosives,” Dmitry Medvedev said.
Many in Russia suspect militants from the North Caucasus of the bombing.
Militants from the unsettled region are frequently blamed for terror attacks in Russia, including a double suicide bombing in March 2010 that killed 40 people on Moscow’s underground system.
That attack was blamed on female suicide bombers from Dagestan.
Unnamed officials said three suspects were being sought over Monday’s attack.
In addition, an unconfirmed report from Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency quoted one unnamed security source as saying that warnings of an attack were received a week ago.
Analysts say militant groups fighting in the Caucasus aim to undermine the idea that Russia’s president and prime minister preside over a safe and secure society.
Speaking on Russian TV, President Medvedev was clear that he believed airport managers were responsible for allowing the explosives into Domodedovo on Monday.
“Judging from the location and other indirect signs, this was a well-prepared terrorist attack [that] aimed to kill as many people as possible.
“The airport is good, and this is recognised by all. It is new and modern. However, what happened shows that, clearly, there were violations in providing security.
Austrian traveller Dr Johann Hammerer: “Injured people were lying on trolleys”
“Those who take decisions there, and the management of the airport itself, must answer for this,” he said.
According to RIA Novosti, Russian authorities were warned a week ago that an “act of terror” would be carried out near one of Moscow’s airport’s, adding that police were seeking three suspects.
Monday’s explosion hit the airport’s busy international arrivals hall in a public area where friends and drivers meet passengers who have passed through customs.
Eyewitnesses told Russian TV that before a bomber detonated the charge, he had shouted: “I’ll kill you all!”
Scenes of panic ensued as the area filled with smoke, with bodies strewn across the floor.
One Briton was among the dead as well as one German.
Thick drops of blood and pieces of shrapnel were scattered across the snow-covered tarmac outside the hall, and emergency workers used luggage trolleys to ferry the dead and injured from the scene to hospitals in Moscow, 40km (25 miles) to the north-west.
Many of those injured are now in a serious condition in hospital.
Mr Medvedev has ordered Russia’s prosecutor general to lead an investigation into the attack.
• Oct 2010 – Six people killed as militants storm parliament in Chechnya, North Caucasus
• Mar 2010 – Suicide bombings at two Moscow metro stations kill 40 people; attack blamed on North Caucasus militants
• Nov 2009 – Bomb blast hits Moscow-St Petersburg luxury express train, killing 26; North Caucasus Islamist group claims responsibility
• Sept 2004 – Chechen rebels seize school in Beslan; 334 hostages, including many children, killed in ensuing battle
• Aug 2004 – Suicide bomber blows herself up at a Moscow metro station, killing 10
• Aug 2004 – Two Tupolev airliners that took off from Domodedovo blown up in mid-air by suicide bombers, killing 89 passengers and crew
“After previous similar events, we passed appropriate legislation, and we have to check how it has been applied,” he said. “Because obviously there have been lapses, and we have to get to the bottom of this.”
He has admitted that poverty, corruption and conflict in the North Caucasus is Russia’s biggest internal problem.
He ordered increased security across Russia’s capital, its airports and other transport hubs.
But like Vladimir Putin before him, Mr Medvedev appears unable to find a solution that would bring stability to that region and peace to Russia, says the BBC’s Steve Rosenberg in Moscow.
Mr Putin has built much of his reputation on a tough security stance to crack down on such violence.
More generally, security authorities internationally have been concerned that – while there is been a huge effort focused on airline passenger and airliner security – keeping airports and airport terminals themselves secure remains a major challenge.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.