Russia identifies suicide bomber as woman from Dagestan

A female suicide bomber that Russian officials say was married to an Islamist militant in Dagestan
killed at least six other people today on a bus in Volgograd.

By Mike Eckel, Correspondent / October 21, 2013

In the video, the green-and-white bus ambles slowly along a tree-lined street in the Russian city of Volgograd. Moments later it is engulfed by a plume of smoke and orange flames, nearly toppled over, and its windows are blown out.

The explosion Monday, Russian authorities said, was caused by a suicide bomber whose detonation killed herself and at least six other people. A Russian government investigative committee said preliminary indications were that the attacker was a woman from the North Caucasus region of Dagestan, adjacent to Chechnya.

Suicide bombings have become less common throughout Russia than they were a decade ago. The timing and location of this blast, however, is potentially worrisome as Russia gears up for the spectacle of the 2014 Winter Olympics, set to begin in less than four months.

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