What will he do? Step up Russian aid for Iran’s nuclear program? “Putin: Retribution ‘inevitable’ for airport attack,” by Jim Heintz for Associated Press, January 25:
MOSCOW – Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin vowed “retribution is inevitable” for the suicide bombing that killed 35 people at Russia’s busiest airport, while President Dmitry Medvedev demanded robust checks at all transport hubs and lashed out at the airport for lax security….
No claims of responsibility have been made for the attack Monday at Domodedovo Airport, which also left 180 people injured. Suspicion is likely to fall, however, on Islamist separatist insurgents from Chechnya or elsewhere in Russia’s restive Caucasus region who have been battling Russian authority for over 15 years.
Chechen insurgents have claimed responsibility for an array of attacks in Moscow and elsewhere in Russia, including a double suicide bombing on the capital’s subway system in March 2010 that killed 40 people. They also have hit Domodedovo Airport before, with two suicide bombers slipping through its security in 2004 to kill 90 people.[…]
The blast came at 4:32 p.m. Monday, when thousands of passengers and workers were in the terminal. They were sprayed with shrapnel containing screws and ball bearings, intended to cause as many casualties as possible, and thick smoke engulfed the terminal….