BREAKING RUSSIA

Admin Sun 29 Dec 2013, 1:31 pm

29 December 2013 Last updated at 11:50
'Suicide bomber' hits Russia's Volgograd train station
Footage from a CCTV camera showed the moment of the blast
Russia bus blast: Islamist suspected
An explosion at a train station in the southern Russian city of Volgograd has killed at least 13 people, reports say.
A female suicide bomber was thought to be responsible for the blast, Russia's anti-terrorism committee said.
A suspected female suicide bomber killed at least six people when she attacked a bus in the city in October.
Moscow is concerned militant groups could be ramping up violence in the run up to the the 2014 winter Olympic Games in the city of Sochi in six weeks.
An Islamist insurgency in the North Caucasus region has led to many attacks there in recent years. Insurgents have also attacked big Russian towns.
Volgograd lies about 900km (560 miles) south of Moscow, 650km north of the North Caucasus and 700km north-east of Sochi.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered law enforcement agencies to take "all necessary security measures" in the bomb's aftermath, said a Kremlin spokesman.
Security would be stepped up at train stations and airports, said a federal police spokesman.
'Act of terrorism'
Sunday's explosion rocked Volgograd-1 station at around 12:45 (08:45 GMT) at a time when millions of Russians are travelling to celebrate the New Year.
The blast blew out many windows and sent debris down the station steps
Formerly known as Stalingrad, Volgograd has a million residents and is described as a gateway to Russia
Interfax news agency quoted a source as saying the bomb was detonated near the metal detectors at the station entrance.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the blast, which local officials said claimed at least 18 lives and left dozens more injured.
"Initial indications are that the blast was set off by a female suicide bomber," said the National Anti-Terror Committee said in a statement.
A nearby security camera facing the station caught the moment of the blast, showing a bright orange flash behind the station's main doors.
The explosion shattered windows and sent debris and plumes of smoke from the station entrance.
Ambulances rushed the injured to hospital, while motionless bodies were laid out in the station forecourt.
Russia map
The incident was being treated as an act of terrorism, said Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin.
In July, Chechen insurgent leader Doku Umarov posted an online video urging militants to use "maximum force" to prevent the Games from going ahead.
On Friday, a car bomb killed three people in the southern Russian city of Pyatigorsk.
Recent attacks inside Russia
29 December 2013: Suspected female suicide bomber kills at least 13 in attack at Volgograd-1 train station
27 December 2013: Car bomb kills three in the southern city of Pyatigorsk
21 October 2013: Suspected female suicide bomber kills six in attack on bus in Volgograd
Daniel Sandford
BBC News, Moscow
In June, Doku Umarov, one of the leaders of the Islamist insurgency in the Russian Caucasus republics, called on his supporters to use "maximum force" to disrupt the "satanic" winter Olympics in Sochi.
It is too early to say whether the attack in Volgograd was by one of his supporters.
But it shows that - despite the metal detectors at railway stations, airports and shopping centres in Russia - bombers are still able to kill and wreak havoc.
It also shows that the attacks will not have to be on Sochi itself to attract attention.
A suspected female suicide bomber killed at least six people when she attacked a bus in the city in October.
Moscow is concerned militant groups could be ramping up violence in the run up to the the 2014 winter Olympic Games in the city of Sochi in six weeks.