25.01.2011, 10:30 5961

Deadly explosion shook Domodedovo airport

Deadly explosion shook Moscow's Domodedovo airport on January 24, 2011. At least 35 people were killed and more than 130 injured, the agency reports.

Almaty. January 25. Kazakhstan Today - Deadly explosion shook Moscow's Domodedovo airport on January 24, 2011. At least 35 people were killed and more than 130 injured, the agency reports.

A suicide bomber set off an explosion that ripped through the arrivals hall at Moscow's busiest airport. The attack bore the hallmarks of militants fighting for an Islamist state in the north Caucasus region, Reuters reported.

A suicide bomber walked into the international arrivals area at Moscow's Domodedovo airport Monday afternoon and set off an explosion that killed at least 35 people, including two British travelers, CBC reported.

The blast ripped through a loosely guarded area of the terminal at 4:32 p.m. local time, covering it with thick smoke and shrapnel. More than 180 people were injured.

While no one immediately claimed responsibility for the blast, suspicions turned to militants from the North Caucasus, a region still in the grip of a bitter Islamist insurgency.

"Attempts were being made to identify" the suspected male suicide bomber, Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said, adding that the attacker appeared to have been wearing the explosives in a belt. People were sprayed with shrapnel of screws and ball bearings, intended to cause as many casualties as possible.

The Interfax news agency said the head of the suspected bomber had been found.

Markin said two British citizens were among the dead, but they weren't immediately identified.

President Dmitry Medvedev immediately ordered authorities to beef up security at Moscow's two other commercial airports and other key transport facilities. He also cancelled plans to fly out Tuesday to Davos, Switzerland, where he was going to promote Russia as a safe, profitable investment haven to world business leaders.

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