Suicide Bomber Kills 13 in Russia Train Station

At least 13 people were killed and scores were wounded today by a suicide bomber at a railway station in southern Russia, officials said, heightening concern about terrorism ahead of February's Olympics in Sochi. The National Anti-Terrorist Committee said the explosion at the central railway station in the city of Volgograd was set off by a suicide bomber. Vladimir Markin, a spokesman for the nation's top investigative agency, the Investigative Committee, said that at least 13 people died in the blast. Russia's Health Ministry said about 50 people were injured.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for today's attack, but it came several months after Chechen rebel leader Doku Umarov called for new attacks against civilian targets in Russia, including the Sochi Games. Russian state television reported that today's explosion occurred at the security gate at the station's entrance. Footage by a security camera facing the station showed the moment of explosion: a bright orange flash inside the station behind the main gate followed by plumes of smoke. Television showed ambulances lined up outside the station and several motionless bodies on the pavement. (More Russia stories.)