tv [untitled] January 24, 2011 11:00pm-11:30pm EST
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breaking news tonight thirty five people killed more than one hundred eighty injured in a suspected suicide bomb attack at moscow's busiest airport. the president bet it says those behind the attack must be brought to justice but the first concern remains for the victims. i express my condolences to the families of those killed extra security will be put in place in overland ports rowing stations on transport the most important thing at the moment is to support the victims and their families the reports say two british citizens are among those killed in the attack with more foreign nationals also injured. the little. league world.
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series. seven am in moscow and that trends are continuing today's breaking news coverage of the tragedy i don't know dead of oh let's get the latest from arena go go reporting for us from the airport. as you can imagine the security measures of course at this terminal at the domodedovo airport have been stepped way more than you can imagine there are more police officers at the scene probably then there are people coming and going from and to the airports to just so. everyone coming into the airport is going through extensive security checks the ministry of internal affairs and their food security are using sniffer dogs and metal detectors and scanners to keep out the level of security. that this is the biggest here in the country naturally this is a home with the perfect tragedy for the for the. the city and for the country
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as well when we arrived here shortly after the flop the first thing that we noted was the fact that the planes were coming and going as you said of course at first we were told that there were reports at sonic of chaos basically at the terminal of black smoke everywhere we did speak to some because of my witnesses and this is what they had to tell us about the situation immediately after the blast. if someone detonated a hidden explosive device it was either in luggage or suicide belts are still the blast a suitcase was on fire and a person had his back to me so the explosive devices are there on this person oh in a suitcase i don't know what he looked like he was dressed in black and standing with his back to me like glossary me three meters back and i stood up everyone was running towards the exit panicking there was a lot of black smoke and the lights went out i went for a medical checkup at first i thought i had a wound on my head but it turned out i just had someone else's blood on me i mean
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when it's not you can't see anything at the scene of the last it's all kind you don't and the investigators are working and you can see anything is up there's a distinctive smell in the air. that he took it off because it was nice of people covered in blood with injured limbs and the ones their faces were covered with blood to someone conscious there was a feeling that something. baek something heavy fell down there is a construction site near there so with that the workers drop something heavy but people from the second floor say that they felt a shake but they were and. who were leaving the airport when we had the explosion when we were leaving the luggage claim area there was something in the air and there was smoke our friends were calling us saying that there was an explosion and there were victims the bomb was not in the baggage area but tried behind the doors in the crowd of people welcoming us in the airport sort of principle which is you know when the blast wave was very strong we are quite far from the explosion but even there we could feel the blast wave ears and we felt
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a strong blow. of course but we arrived the smoke cleared so to speak both literally and proverbially at that point the security measures of course were in place tremendous security measures the area the area where people were allowed to come in to meet and greet those. who are arriving was that there right by the arrival by the arrival area and that is where the explosion is which needed at this point everybody that's coming to the airport to meet and greet their whole force to stand to right at the departures old so there is a sort of there's a lot of commotion there at the moment because that entire area caused been cordoned off bob dole so they are of there of vehicles being evacuated right now a lot of emergency vehicles still in place you can imagine that immediately following the blasts all the emergency vehicles the police vehicles were coming in and because of that the airport security had to basically kick everybody out of the airport and out of the parking area and at this point that parking lot is in fact this still taken up by all the emergency vehicles a lot there are
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a lot less of them now that there were several hours ago you can also imagine that probably you would assume that their flights to be counselled some of them were indeed canceled at least several flights to vienna there was over also a flight to st petersburg that has been canceled as well but at this point the airport is functioning normally almost to its full capacity but we also know. they bosco mayra was at the scene also speaking to the investigative comedian not investigate the media arrived here shortly after the blast and they're still breaking at the scene and they probably will have to stay here for the remain there for the remainder of the night these folks have a lot of work that they have to do in the next few hours trying to figure out who and what is behind this particular blast let's have a listen to what the investigative officials told us earlier. that police are investigating at the scene the explosion took place in the international arrivals who the shooter is suspected of carrying out the attack.
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of course that was that earlier hundred sixty people are thought hundreds at least a hundred sixty people have been injured up despite this horrendous tragedy that took place earlier the deal with that of an airport the mood here of course those old though tense is not to panic at all we also have to remember that in this stuff in this this horrific incident there were there were people coming together we know that people who are working at shops and cafes they were very close to the arrival area came together started helping the airport staff when they were evacuating the injured and of the bodies of the killed for all of the arrivals area and that of course this is one of the shows of people coming together in times of tragedy but also unfortunately not all stories are that good we know that some taxi drivers were charging as much as five hundred dollars the equivalent of five hundred
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dollars in rubles for those who wanted to leave the airports but also good news there as well. there were also volunteers people standing outside offering free rides to moscow or to the closest metro station to those who needed to leave also the air at the train that is taking that is transporting the passengers to and from the air. between the between don't forget about and most of the bell those train rides were also offered for free for everybody willing to take them but this morning to talk over we do know that the security measures of course have been stepped way out but of course they actually even for hitting filming inside the airport when we went in they told us to leave with no more filming no more camera crews allowed inside of the security measures are so strict that at this point people have to literally open their bags before the even get into the departure area you come in and you immediately met with the cordoned off police you have to go through the metal detectors you how to open your bags they're checking
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everything even cell phones unfortunately it takes something as big as this tragedy for the security measures to be stepped up to where they really should have been at that at the very beginning as some people that we've heard have been say. president medvedev held an emergency meeting to discuss the response to the domodedovo blast he also delayed his trip to the world economic forum in this was city of davos where he was planning to make a keynote address or he's tabard and has the government's response. the president. as you said canceled his i delayed his trip to the the divorce economic forum where he was going to be a keynote speaker and he also recently had this meeting with the prosecutor general the investigative committee and also the russian transport ministry where they outlined really their immediate priorities the immediate priorities that he highlighted first of all to get on to the people who who are behind this attack who
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planned it in his words to be hot on their heels also really to provide immediate assistance to the people on the ground medical and psychological help if you don't if the people hospital oversee medical help if they weren't actually wounded physically that then also need psychological counseling if they're traumatized from this bombing also he extended his condolences to those people affected by the attack the russian prime minister vladimir putin also spoke to the health minister saying that those people will be will get compensation and recommending the health minister visit them in person the president earlier spoke after this meeting a more just here some of the things he had to say there. the explosion in domodedovo took people's lives are spoken to the health minister and the emergencies minister those injured in the explosion move receive all necessary aid
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i express my condolences to the families of those killed extra security will be put in place in all airports roadways stations and transport hubs a special investigation group will be set up to look into the incident we need to look at what's happened in the immediate aftermath as for security on transport we've recently approved a number of laws on that we need to check that those laws are working because what happened shows not all of those rulings are being properly apply. side we have to look into about the most important thing at the moment is to support the victims and their families. the laws to which president medvedev are referring is referring there are laws passed after last year's march metro bombings and the earlier bombing of the nevsky express train on its way to some petersburg in both cases extra laws were added to russia's antiterrorism legislation but as he said those laws are either not being adhered to properly or are in need of some adjustment and
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they'll have to be scrutinized to see how they actually work in practice also of note was the fact that the moscow's mayor and also the regional governor of the moscow region made a very swift public response to go to the scenes the hospitals and the airport to show leadership on the ground and to be at the center of the decision making process as the president said in his in his address really. it's a matter of public transport safety all public transport hubs have had security massively stepped up especially the other airports but also here in the center of moscow i'm pretty close to the kremlin hour in the head of the federal security service is a visit really heightened police presence on the streets here it is reminiscent of the increased police presence after the moscow metro bombings which only happened
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under under a year ago and so the atmosphere of would be vigilance really a lot of increased vigilance now from the security services and police are currently working to identify the suspected suicide bomber behind monday's attack security has been taken across the capital russia's anti-gay terror committee says the situation at the airport and across moscow is under control. as soon as we received information about the explosion police officers federal security experts and emergency teams went to the airport we're taking every measure to prevent any such incidents in other public places in accordance with presidential order we've tightened security at all transportation hubs in moscow we're considering various motives but the most likely one is an act of terror of the national antiterrorism committee has already asked the public for any information about the incident the situation in the affluent across the capital is
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under control this is of course a very grave incident and it shows a society should mobilize to fight against terrorism. a london based expert on terrorism and conflict resolution tells r.t. there are similarities between this attack and others carried out by terrorists from russia's restive north caucasus region. this is an attack similar to others that have taken place in moscow in recent years and the all indications are that this is part of the insurgency going on in the north caucasus so unless we hear. of. other suspects i think it's natural to suspect that it's people from the involved to the insurgency the north caucasus that are behind it we must keep in mind. the insurgency in the north caucuses. now has connections with other terrorist groups in the middle east and in other parts of
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the world so we are probably seeing yet another outrage yet another attack against innocent civilians on the same pattern as happened in new york in london and paris and in other parts of the world. of course the insurgency in the north caucasus has domestic routes and. there are courses for it that are local but in the end this is in my view part of much wider international threat to. peace loving people everywhere in the world those behind it. need to be brought to justice there are other things what that one needs to be doing and that is to try to undermine any popular support. these groups have either in a rush are or globally in the world so there is
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a need to isolate these terrorists wherever they are this is a global threat the. terrorism that we're seeing in different parts of the world has a connection with each other and. obviously russia has now been targeted. the same way that a number of western countries in the past have been targeted this is not an isolated incident there have been other incidents like this in moscow and in other parts of russia and obviously the russian government is going to have to deal with this firmly but on the other hand it needs to deal with this problem also wisely because the anybody prizes that would target people that have not been directly involved in this incident it's counterproductive so those who have been behind who those who are behind this incident need to be investigated and brought to justice but other
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people who perhaps are implicated simply because of it or whatever they have nothing to do with this and they should not be part. of the reaction. earlier r.t. sara firth told us about the security measures that are being taken in moscow second busiest airport sheremetyevo. taking going through the check in and having your luggage checked that's taking a lot longer now measures have been stepped up you've also seen patrol staff around the airport grounds with dogs so it is night as we can see we've spoken to the security staff and they said that they've got the highest security level in place now all the stuff from high alert they've been extra vigilant checking the luggage and they've got people monitoring the c.c.t.v. extremely closely does all this the monitors usually anyway me and notice next to place with the threat and the attack the topic of the day and i will be speaking to people on the ground in the airport trying to get a feel there's certainly no panic at the moment but people who are traveling today
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extremely anxious about what's happening i wanting to know as much information as possible certainly about their safety in the surpluses what we have shared much of that today saying that they were ready to take the extra flights are going to be diverted from the other day you know is actually spoken to the with press service just a little while ago though what they told us was that actually there weren't that many flights diverted to share matches and there was about a thirty minute gap when flights were restricted from coming into domodedovo airport and that's actually now according to show that to a press that has been listed so the flights are returning to normal at the in the dead of the kid they said that was they would. could ever see some of those diverted flights as well as st petersburg airports and of course to the people who were expecting to land in most gate today no landing quite far out of the city and they'll be looking not to face a least a four hour train ride the high welling's this to some destruction sure much as he
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said ready to take on the extra capacity the extra people if necessary but what we're hearing at the moment is a looks like they start furtive flies perhaps won't be necessary and it will look people are understandably nervous and anxious when they hear this news the actual stuff on the ground has done a really great job. every assuring people as best they can in keeping that as a phone to say possibly can of what's going on now we actually spoke to some of the people in the apple some of them knew what was happening some of them were just finding out as we were talking to us so we can hear some of their reactions now. the most important thing is people safety i'm a little scared but there's nothing i can do have to go in there there's no other way home. i don't know what happened when we have been i don't really want to know what happened then they want to talk to my parents now because i think they are very worried now heard i don't they keep going to change. coming to
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moscow. i was supposed to fly from the image of where port the new i'm leaving to share a mutual i'm not scared to get closer don't have any other choice because they're what has been interesting tonight in the comparison is loyalty the bombing last year was a real resilience of people they're not going to be terrorized by these people by these attacks are they getting on with things as best as they can as he said the stuff that we try to keep things running is effectively and smoothly and emphasizing that the main priority at the moment is continuing to ensure that they've got every measure in place to ensure the safety of the passages coming in and out of these. porous cargo lecky from the institute of globalization and social movements says the way airports are organized actually gives terrorists a good opportunity to strike. the easiest way to do when they're with this situation is to blame for example the church an oracle cation terrorists and i think quite a lot of people already quite ready to do it though there is very little evidence
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behind these claims and in fact would know very little if anything about all their real causes and. the people behind the bluster so that sounds i am a little worried because i think it can be very much like a pro occasion to increase. their ethnic tension and their general political tension in the country and that will have very negative effect the big question for example is why it all happened given all the security measures and among all the things we know that for example for the teesta few days. there was secure to stuff in demanded a was warned that something was happening. in fact very little was actually done to increase the security and safety or into the safety of the presenters and honestly people were waiting for something to happen for
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a few days already because there were rumors in moscow for for about two weeks or it is something was going to happen and still didn't happen so my big problem with this is to understand why the security apparatus let it happen the security breach of their poor group or to the radio all the internet that they did have a special security not something usual but they were wanted something special was going to happen and the. the third all security apparatus was good to take care or which they actually didn't and that's what is exactly really scary and on the other hand i personally think that their way airports all denies it is actually increasing the risk of terrorist attacks not diminishing it because their way of for a goal the control over. crawl out of the airports is done it's creating bottlenecks it's creating tough crowds of people which are very very easy targets for terrorist attacks and really impressive that nothing happened like that so far of the
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world or in russia because i think that they are opposed to cure it is not about providing safety and security of that person just because so far all terrorist attacks were targeted last people who would target are those people traveling by metro and they were targeted people who were not really important for the first time no have an attack which was targeted at people whose closs level was kind of a bit higher middle class maybe even of a middle class people and that is absolutely new to russian terrorism. at least one hundred eighty people were injured in the blast and it's now reported ninety seven of them have been taken to hospitals across the russian capital many in critical condition r.t.c. or piskun are reports from outside one of the hospitals. many injuries are connected with the burns severe burns caused by this blast also appears injuries caused by shrapnel and head traumas as well. the
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injuries are typical of explosions these are penetrating here wounds from the blast penetrating injuries or stomach area brain injuries some are very gravely wounded and others are would light injuries of soft tissue on hands feet and ankles. injured more dispersed and to various hospitals across moscow but also had several clinics in the moscow region and we're getting reports that they may be sent to a bigger more advanced cell several medical centers to receive more. advanced medical attention also the this blast happened at four thirty pm and at the time this was right after several international flights had just arrived to do my due the airport and we're getting reports that some foreign citizens are also affected by this explosion according to investigators to british citizens were
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killed in this blast and there are different reports on the number of those foreign citizens who've been injured unconfirmed reports that a german citizen and french citizen were injured in this blast also out of the thirty five people who have been killed in this blast and we've heard that three. three lost their lives already after being delivered to hospital one person died why while on on his way to being treated by doctors at a hospital as well. hotlines have been opened for psychological help and another hotline has been all been to form a lot transfer cycle of psychologists are also working at the idea they were airport itself. for everybody in need and not only for those who are going to have been affected by this attack but really everybody because out of the dozens or even
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hundreds of reports we're joined now flooding the internet and other media and other people who were at the airport at the time of the son explosion all everybody says that every person really felt it and this is why everybody's really affected not only those who were in the actual area of the explosion but everybody who was at the airport had to have the time so. unfortunately officials say that judging by previous. experiences of attacks in moscow the number off a tele he's still mail me reisa the health ministry has published the lists of all the casualties but hopefully it will stay the same as at least it is at this moment earlier my colleague spoke with political analyst a between baddish and cross talk host and political commentator peter lavelle both agreed it won't be easy to intimidate russia for attacks like this. people getting
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back to doing their daily lives here unfortunately we do have these kind of attacks but people are not intimidated by them life will go on as tragic as this event is today number two russian afghanistan warmed up relations in the last few days don't discount that as somebody sending a signal because you know they've been very good at getting rid of the coalition of the willing america's willing partners in afghanistan russia has made a sweet little baby step there to work on the drugs trade but you know it's you know that could be a doctor we could be connecting at one point is this is outside funding these are people outside funding these people training these people in many cases or training people to train other people and outside and it's extremely well documented western media doesn't like to do that angle because it makes russia look like it can't deal with the north caucuses and all that has a lot of problems down there who would want to have to deal with the kind of a social breakdown that we've had in many cases we need investment there's unemployment there's actually discrimination poor governance i would say in many ways but there is an initiative and has been initiative to deal with that issue but
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still we have this why did they come to the works and capital why to send a message to keep the training going and keep the money coming in from the outside and this is something that russia is very well aware of and i agree with demons he started out here there's still a lot of loopholes here if you look around you know they still have a lot of work to do to use to combat this kind of activity some loopholes perhaps but certainly security when you when you see it at the metro the airport security is always a far as i'm concerned very impressive but you huge rule you draw the focus down to the north caucuses had to be treaty is peter do you think it's corrected enjoy pointing the finger of blame in that area well if as i said the news that that terrorist attack was committed by a suicide bomb confirmed that all because of the. track will be the first or the number one triple investigation since it's such a huge city you just cannot bring it to a standstill even by a major terrorist. i would get you on what. peter has said before you know of so
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far nancy if. terrorists were squatters. i think the western audience should step let the states or the european union may not can see the russia part of the west what for us one was terrorist russia is a part. of me sort of. how do you have terrorism it's not just a domestic issue it's a global issue and i would like to add that it's like the weakest link. in the west it's dangerous and difficult to strike to strike at israel israel's security it's very difficult to strike the united states it's a bit easier to straighten europe but europe gets very easily but in russia because it's such a it's basically a new state and it's a poor city of all of these are very porous they're all sort of communities here so it's just easier to strike at russia but the problem with russia for these people
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the terrorist is that russia is not so easily intimidated for example spain in spain the terrorists immediately had a positive effect on their actions in russia because of its political system because many reasons they can strike again if. there is no result and if we have a north caucasus connection here too we have a very huge immigrant communities from central asia i mean we have people mixed in here very easily in very strong communities right here it's very good coverage here because they're not they're not wiretapping the technology isn't really they're not know he's dropping i mean of course they go to find individuals and groups and in clans that could be very dangerous but there are so again it is not as tight tight here security wise as so many people would think it would be good russia is all about russia's very loose on very many things and and its easy place to blend in.
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