President Putin Held An Urgent Session In The Kremlin To Discuss The Terrorist Act In Kaspiisk

At an urgent session in the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin demanded that the criminals who committed a terrorist act in Kaspiisk (a city in Dagestan, Russia's North-Caucasian republic) should be "identified, accused and punished as soon as possible". Vladimir Putin characterised the explosion in Kaspiisk as a terrorist act. According to the preliminary data, 21 people were killed and more than a hundred wounded by the explosion in Kaspiisk. There are many servicemen, veterans and children among the victims: people flocked to the streets on this festive day, and this is what terrorists counted on. According to the data of Dagestan's interior ministry, a time bomb was placed at the edge of the road and exploded at 9.45 Moscow time, when a festive column of demonstrators, with marines stationed in the city in front of it, marched along Lenin street. It is reported that 100 people have been taken to hospital with all sorts of injuries. "Crimes of this kind and such a degree of cruelty cannot but stir up emotions, but they should not hinder our thorough investigation of this crime," the president said. "No one has any doubts that this is a terrorist act. We must identify the criminals, prove their guilt and punish them as soon as possible. It is necessary to set up an inter-departmental group which will launch an investigation into this crime in keeping with the existing legislation. The group will be headed by the Federal Security Service (FSB), and Patrushev as its director," Putin said. As Vladimir Kolesnikov, Russia's deputy Prosecutor General, told journalists, a criminal case was opened in connection with today's explosion in Kaspiisk. "There is just one version of the event: this is a terrorist act," Kolesnikov said noting that the explosion is "a challenge to all normal people". "Only non-humans could commit a terrorist act on such a holy day," Kolesnikov added. "According to the latest reports, FSB director Nikolai Patrushev is already on a flight to Kaspiisk. Magomedali Magomedov, head of the State Council of Dagestan, visited the site of the tragedy in Kaspiisk. "This terrorist act has given a shock to the entire Republic," he said. "People have gathered today to mark the holiday of life and justice, but then some scoundrels have turned up to commit this act of vandalism". The leader of Dagestan went to the Kaspiisk city hospital which continues to receive people injured as a result of the terrorist act. The city authorities addressed city dwellers on the local radio asking them to supply blood for the victims of the terrorist act.