Moscow airport bomb triggers shakeup in transport police

Transport officials have been fired over security lapses.

Travel Insurance News - 27/01/2011

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Upset about ‘passive’ security, Russia’s president Dmitry Medvedev yesterday fired a top transport official in response to the bombing that killed 35 people at Domodedovo airport. Speculation concerning the identity of the suicide bomber has continued to mount since the attack three days ago.

Medvedev ordered Russia’s interior ministry to completely ‘shake up’ the transport police service. He accused officers at Russia’s airports of being ‘absolutely passive’ about maintaining security.

The Russian president fired Andrei Alekseyev, who heads the interior ministry’s transport department in the central federal district. On Tuesday, Medvedev lashed out at the airport’s management and senior officials in the government. He accused them of negligence and said security inspections at Domodedovo airport were anarchic.

Investigators say they have identified all of the people killed by the bombing, apart from the presumed attacker. The remains of the suspected bomber are still being examined.

Russia’s media published pictures of the man’s severed head. Some 110 people are still being treated in hospital. Fifty of the injured are in serious condition.

Speculation on the identity of the bomber revolved around his appearance. Some security sources said the man’s features indicated he comes from a country in the North Caucasus. An anthropologist said the features appear to be Arabic.

Police say they think the attacker is probably connected to Islamist insurgents responsible for previous such attacks. So far, nobody has claimed responsibility for the bombing.

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