Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday ordered action to prevent terror attacks on Russia's railways, in particular setting a tight deadline for investigating such accidents.
"It [the order] involves not only social, economic and security issues, but also sets a tight deadline for investigating terror attacks," Medvedev told a meeting with Russian security officials at the Vnukovo airport in the Moscow Region.
The high-speed Nevsky Express train derailed last Friday killing 26 people and injuring over 90 en route from Moscow to St. Petersburg after a bomb equivalent to 7 kg (15 lbs) of TNT detonated on the track. A second, weaker bomb exploded at the site on Saturday, and is believed to have targeted investigators.
Alexander Bastrykin, head of the Investigation Committee, who was injured in the second explosion, told the president that some 400 witnesses have already been questioned and preliminary results of the investigations will be revealed in 10-12 days.
The meeting with the president at Vnukovo airport, from where he is leaving for an official visit to Italy, was attended by First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov, Federal Security Service (FSB) Director Alexander Bortnikov and head of the Russian Investigation Committee Alexander Bastrykin.
The Kavkaz Center website published on Wednesday a letter from Islamist extremists, who claimed responsibility for the bombing, saying that the "operation" was prepared and carried out in line with orders from the Emir of the Caucasus, Doku Umarov.
VNUKOVO-2 AIRPORT, December 2 (RIA Novosti)
