AP Photo/Denis TyrinRussian soldiers patrol the Battle of Stalingrad memorial in Volgograd, Russia, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2013. Russian authorities ordered police to beef up security at train stations and other facilities across the country after a suicide bomber killed 14 people on a bus Monday in the southern city of Volgograd. It was the second deadly attack in two days on the city that lies just 400 miles (650 kilometers) from the site of the 2014 Winter Olympics.
VOLGOGRAD, Russia — Thousands of police officers and paramilitary forces are on duty in the Russian city of Volgograd, which is reeling from two suicide bombings in two days that killed 34 people and raised fears that a terrorist campaign may have begun that could stretch into the Winter Olympics.
In the wake of Sunday’s bombing at the city’s main railway station and Monday’s blast on a trolleybus, police reinforcements and Interior Ministry troops have been sent into the city, regional police official Andrei Pilipchuk was quoted as telling the Interfax news agency. He said more than 5,200 security forces are deployed in the city of 1 million.
AP Photo/Denis TyrinRussian soldiers patrol the Battle of Stalingrad memorial in Volgograd, Russia, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2013. Russian authorities ordered police to beef up security at train stations and other facilities across the country after a suicide bomber killed 14 people on a bus Monday in the southern city of Volgograd. It was the second deadly attack in two days on the city that lies just 400 miles (650 kilometers) from the site of the 2014 Winter Olympics.
VOLGOGRAD, Russia — Thousands of police officers and paramilitary forces are on duty in the Russian city of Volgograd, which is reeling from two suicide bombings in two days that killed 34 people and raised fears that a terrorist campaign may have begun that could stretch into the Winter Olympics.
In the wake of Sunday’s bombing at the city’s main railway station and Monday’s blast on a trolleybus, police reinforcements and Interior Ministry troops have been sent into the city, regional police official Andrei Pilipchuk was quoted as telling the Interfax news agency. He said more than 5,200 security forces are deployed in the city of 1 million.
Volgograd authorities have cancelled mass events for New Year’s Eve, one of Russia’s most popular holidays, and asked residents not to set off fireworks. In Moscow, festivities were to go ahead but authorities said security would be increased.
There has been no claim of responsibility for either bombing, but they came only months after the leader of an Islamic insurgency in southern Russia threatened new attacks on civilian targets in the country, including on the Winter Games that are to begin Feb. 7 in Sochi.
Games organizers have introduced some of the most extensive identity checks and security measures ever seen at an international sporting event. But even if security at the Games themselves is tight, many analysts suggest that 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 signalled that militants want to show their reach outside their native region. Volgograd is about 300 kilometres north of the Caucasus and about 690 kilometres northeast of Sochi.
China, host of the 2008 Summer Olympics, on Tuesday expressed confidence in the security of the Sochi Games.
“The competent authorities on our side have maintained close communication and co-operation with Russia in terms of the security work for the Winter Olympics. We believe that Russia is capable of ensuring security and hosting a successful Winter Olympics,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters on Tuesday.
The United States would welcome “closer co-operation” with Russia on security preparations for the Winter Olympics, White House spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said Monday.
AFP PHOTO / STRINGERSTRINGER/AFP/Getty ImagesRussian security forces stand guard outside a train station following a suicide attack in the Volga River city of Volgograd, about 900 kms (560 miles) southeast of Moscow, on December 29, 2013. A female suicide bomber killed 14 people when she blew herself up at the main train station in the southern city of Volgograd, raising concerns about security in Russia just six weeks before the Sochi Olympic Games.
Volgograd authorities have cancelled mass events for New Year’s Eve, one of Russia’s most popular holidays, and asked residents not to set off fireworks. In Moscow, festivities were to go ahead but authorities said security would be increased.
There has been no claim of responsibility for either bombing, but they came only months after the leader of an Islamic insurgency in southern Russia threatened new attacks on civilian targets in the country, including on the Winter Games that are to begin Feb. 7 in Sochi.
Games organizers have introduced some of the most extensive identity checks and security measures ever seen at an international sporting event. But even if security at the Games themselves is tight, many analysts suggest that 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 signalled that militants want to show their reach outside their native region. Volgograd is about 300 kilometres north of the Caucasus and about 690 kilometres northeast of Sochi.
China, host of the 2008 Summer Olympics, on Tuesday expressed confidence in the security of the Sochi Games.
“The competent authorities on our side have maintained close communication and co-operation with Russia in terms of the security work for the Winter Olympics. We believe that Russia is capable of ensuring security and hosting a successful Winter Olympics,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters on Tuesday.
The United States would welcome “closer co-operation” with Russia on security preparations for the Winter Olympics, White House spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said Monday.
AFP PHOTO / STRINGERSTRINGER/AFP/Getty ImagesRussian security forces stand guard outside a train station following a suicide attack in the Volga River city of Volgograd, about 900 kms (560 miles) southeast of Moscow, on December 29, 2013. A female suicide bomber killed 14 people when she blew herself up at the main train station in the southern city of Volgograd, raising concerns about security in Russia just six weeks before the Sochi Olympic Games.
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