By BosNewsLife News Center
BUDAPEST/MOSCOW (BosNewsLife)– Christian missionaries in Russia expressed concerns Monday, January 24, about the future of the country after an explosion ripped through the international section of Moscow’s busiest airport, killing at least 31 people and wounding about 130 others.
“The mood in Moscow is panicked,” said Pavel Tokarchuk, director of mission group Russian Ministries’ Moscow office in comments obtained by BosNewsLife. Tokarchuk and his family live in the Russian capital.
Russian media said the explosion may have been caused by a suicide bomber. Russia’s RIA Novosti news service estimated the bomb to have the explosive force of seven kilograms of TNT.
Domodedovo is generally regarded as Moscow’s most modern airport, but its security procedures reportedly failed in the past. In 2004, two suicide bombers were able to board planes at Domodedovo by buying tickets illegally from airport personnel. The bombers blew themselves up in mid-air, killing 90 people aboard the two flights.
SUBWAY BOMBINGS
Monday’s bombing at the airport itself “is reminiscent of the bombings of two of Moscow’s busy subway station [in March] last year that were carried out by female suicide bombers from [the Russian region of] Dagestan,” Russian Ministries explained. Some 40 people died and over 60 others were injured in those attacks.
On Monday, January 24, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev increased security across Moscow, and he promised to track down those behind the latest deadly attack, well-informed Russian Ministries said.
Missionaries made clear they are closely following reports that Islamic militants from the Northern Caucasus are planning to increase the violence “in Russia’s heartland as the country prepares for its 2012 presidential elections.”
Russia is battling an Islamist insurgency in the Northern Caucasus where rebels fight against Moscow rule. In Dagestan, neighboring Chechnya and Ingushetia there are almost daily, armed attacks on government and police officials.
Despite the dangers, Russian Ministries said it “is on the ground in both Moscow and the Northern Caucasus region.”
The group added that it recently delivered Christmas presents and New Testaments to “needy children in Russia’s Far North and in the Northern Caucasus.”
