Russia bomb attack kills at least 14, injures 43

Russia bomb attack kills at least 14, injures 43
Sun Dec 29, 2013 23:02:45

At least 14 people have been reported killed and 43 injured in a bomb attack that occurred at a Russian railway station in Volgograd, an industrial city south of the country.

The Sunday afternoon blast took place as a woman approached a metal detector frame at the railway station's entrance where she stopped and detonated her explosives after a police officer started approaching her.

"When the suicide bomber saw the metal detector frame and saw the policemen on duty as she entered the railway station, she got nervous and her behavior seemed suspicious to the policemen," Russia’s Interior Ministry spokesman Andrei Pilipchuk told Rossiya-24 TV Network. "[Officer] Dmitry Makovkin started in her direction at a fast pace and at that moment the explosion rang.”

Makovkin died on the spot, six other police officers were injured, Pilipchuk said.

The station was crowded with passengers. If the bomber had entered the main hall, the number of casualties would have been much higher.

The power of the explosion was equal to 10 kilos [about 22 pounds] of TNT, officials said.

No group has as yet claimed responsibility.

Volgograd suffered a similar terrorist attack back in October when a female terrorist bomber struck on a passenger bus killing six and injuring 33 people.

The Volgograd region is close both to the troubled North Caucasus region and to the site of the 2014 Olympic Games in Soch which will begin February 7.

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