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The death toll from the two terrorist attacks in Volgograd has reached 32 people, Russian Deputy Emergency Situations Minister Vladimir Stepanov told reporters. The Investigative Committee has announced it established a link between the explosions at the Volgograd train station and on the trolleybus.
"We currently have information that the two explosions have hurt 104 people, of which 32 were killed," he said.
Stepanov said the process of the victims' identification has not been completed yet.
"Unfortunately, this process may take more than one day. Some victims are expected to be identified with relatives' help. There are plans to use genetic tests, too," he said.
The terrorists wanted to sow panic and fear, making use of the impossibility to ensure the complete security of transportation systems, Lev Korolkov, veteran of the Vympel special task unit, told the
Voice of Russia.
"It is impossible to take each and every transportation vehicle or each and every crowded place under guard. Then, all public transport would have to be halted, all shopping centers closed and all railway stations shut. It's a process aimed at destabilizing the general situation. Such high-profile terrorist attacks inflicting a large number of casualties mean that some forces are attempting to rock the boat. Those forces could be those seeking territorial secession or maximum control over the North Caucasus to create fertile ground for a future caliphate. We have seen similar things in the Middle East and North Africa over recently," the expert said.
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