Russian leader slams airport security

Officials of the Moscow airport where a suicide bomber killed 35 people must bear responsibility for security failures there, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said today.

However, airport management claimed that Russian transport police were in charge.

The finger-pointing could further undermine confidence in Russia’s security as Mr Medvedev prepares for an appearance at the high-profile World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to try to attract investors.

Two Britons, a German and a Bulgarian were among the those killed in yesterday afternoon’s explosion at Domodedovo Airport, according to the Emergencies Ministry. A further 110 people, including nine foreigners, were taken to hospital with injuries, the ministry said.

No claims of responsibility for the blast have been issued, although Islamic militants in the southern Russian region of Chechnya have been blamed for previous attacks in Moscow, including a double suicide bombing on the capital’s subway system in March 2010 which resulted in 40 deaths.

If yesterday’s attack was by Chechen insurgents, it could indicate an ominous new strategy because, unlike previous attacks, it targeted an area where foreign citizens were likely to be victims.

After the blast, Mr Medvedev postponed his departure for the Davos forum, where he is to be the main speaker at the opening session tomorrow. The Kremlin said he still plans to go, but his itinerary has not been finalised.

Russia’s attractiveness for investors had already been shaken in December when ex-oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky was sentenced to six more years in prison. Khodorkovsky has been in jail since 2003 in a case that critics say is political revenge for his support of opposition politicians.

Mr Medvedev, often seen as a comparatively weak leader subsidiary to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, aimed to assert his strength after the blast by calling for management of the capital’s biggest airport to be held accountable for security lapses.

“What happened shows that obviously there were violations in guaranteeing security. And it should be answered for by those who make decisions there and by the management of the airport,” he said in comments released by the Kremlin today.

The blast took place in the international arrivals area, where people without tickets can meet passengers.

An airport spokesman, Sergei Martirosian, told the Interfax news agency today that inspection of people coming into the arrivals area is the responsibility of transport police “and not our security service”.

Mr Medvedev’s criticism of airport security echoed an official of the National Anti-Terrorist Committee, Nikolai Sintsov, who said on state television that “the security measures at Domodedovo were insufficient, otherwise nothing would have happened”, adding that some metal detectors were not working.

It was the second time in seven years that Domodedovo had been involved in a terrorist attack. In 2004, two female suicide bombers penetrated the lax security there, illegally bought tickets from airport personnel and boarded planes which exploded in flight and killed 90 people.

Conflicting reports emerged today about how the bombing was carried out, with some accounts citing unnamed sources as saying there were two bombers, one of them a woman.

Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said yesterday that the attack was most likely carried out by a suicide bomber and “attempts were being made to identify him”.

The blast came at 4.32pm local time, when hundreds of passengers and workers were in that area of the terminal. They were sprayed with shrapnel of screws and ball bearings, intended to cause as many casualties as possible.

The terminal filled with thick smoke and witnesses described a scene of horror.

“There was lots of blood, severed legs flying around,” said Yelena Zatserkovnaya, a Lufthansa official.

Airport workers turned baggage carts into makeshift stretchers to wheel the wounded to ambulances outside, she said.

Amateur video showed a pile of bodies on the floor, with other victims scattered around. Luggage was also strewn around the terminal and several small fires burned. A dazed man in a suit pushed a baggage cart through the haze.

Driver Artyom Zhilenkov said he was standing just a few yards away from a man who may have been the suicide bomber. He saw an explosion on or near the man, whose suitcase was on fire.

Mr Zhilenkov said he initially thought he himself had been injured, but doctors said he was just coated in the blood of others.

“The guy standing next to me was torn to pieces,” he said.

Aviation security experts have been warning since the September 11 2001 attacks in the US that the crowds at many airports present tempting targets to suicide bombers. Arrivals halls are usually open to anyone.

The attack also called into question Russia’s ability to safely host major international events like the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and the 2018 World Cup.

Fifa president Sepp Blatter was in St Petersburg over the weekend to formally award Russia the 2018 World Cup. Prior to the signing, he told Mr Putin that he was certain Fifa had made the right choice.

Built in 1964, Domodedovo is located 26 miles (42km) south-east of Moscow and is the largest of the three major airports that serve the capital, handling more than 22 million people last year.

Mr Medvedev called for full security checks to be conducted at all transport hubs and for government officials to be held accountable for security lapses.

He said the management of Domodedovo Airport must share responsibility for security failures that contributed to the blast, describing security at the airport as “simply a state of anarchy”.

Airport management objected, saying the inspection of people coming into the arrivals area, where the bombing took place, is the responsibility of transport police.

Mr Medvedev said: “I instruct the Interior Minister to suggest which ministry officials responsible for transport security could be dismissed or face other sanctions,” and made similar instructions to the security service.

He also called for a system of “total examination” of passengers and baggage at transport centres.

“This will make it longer for passengers, but it’s the only way,” he said.

Mr Medvedev’s criticism was echoed by an official of the National Anti-Terrorist Committee, Nikolai Sintsov, who said on state television that “the security measures at Domodedovo were insufficient, otherwise nothing would have happened”.

The Pope has expressed “profound pain and firm condemnation” after the airport bombing.

In a telegram to Mr Medvedev, Benedict XVI expressed “feelings of spiritual closeness and heartfelt condolences to the victims’ families”.

Benedict called the attack “a grave act of violence” in the telegram, which was released today by the Vatican.

Vatican-Kremlin relations were upgraded to full diplomatic ties after a 2009 meeting between Benedict and Mr Medvedev, signalling a warming in previously tense relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Vatican.