Medvedev slams airport management for lack of security

Moscow, Jan 25: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has slammed the management of Domodedovo International Airport for lack of security leading a suicide attack in which 35 people were killed and 178 injured.

"The management of Domodedovo Airport should be held responsible. After previous similar events, we had adopted appropriate legislations. Obviously there have been lapses. We will have to look into this," Medvedev said in an interview to local media.

The interview, recorded on Jan 24, was telecast by Rossiya 24 TV channel on Jan 25.

Earlier, a spokesman for the National Anti-terror Committee (NAC) said the visitors could enter the arrival launch without any security check and the electronic gates were defunct.

"Security measures in the Domodedovo airport were insufficient, otherwise the terrorist attack would have never taken place," NAC spokesman Nikolai Sintsov told Rossiya 24.

Meanwhile, sources close to the probe have said that there were two attackers a woman in black and a man.

"The two had brought explosives into the arrival lounge of the international sector. The bomb went off when the woman kneeled to open the bag," a source close to the probe was quoted as saying by local agencies.

They did not rule out that the explosive device could have been triggered remotely, by the third accomplice, who had brought them by car.

Earlier, Interfax reported one of the eyewitnesses questioned by the investigators had seen how the hand baggage of a woman dressed in black exploded.

"The eyewitness declared that the young woman was dressed in black and the explosives were in the bag or suitcase on the floor next to her," a source was quoted as saying by the agency.

It said the security agencies were aware of the possible terror attacks, and were looking for ''Black Widows'' of the slain militants from the Caucasus, who had carried out all suicide attacks in past, including twin blasts in Moscow metro stations in March 2010.

A law enforcement source told RIA Novosti that the security services were aware that terrorists were planning an attack on a Moscow airport, but were unable to locate and detain the three suspects they had been searching for.

PTI