Russia passes law for additional anti-terrorism measures

[News_Editor]

Russia passes law for additional anti-terrorism measures

2011-05-04 00:25:37 GMT+7 (ICT)

MOSCOW, RUSSIA (BNO NEWS) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday signed into law a bill that grants him power to impose additional anti-terrorism measures in case of a threat, RIA Novosti reported.

The new law will also introduce a color chart similar to the one used in the United States. A substantial terrorism threat will be represented by a dark blue indicator, a severe threat by yellow, and a critical threat by red.

The threat level will be determined by President Medvedev according to the situation. The law was passed after Russia suffered a suicide bombing attack at Domodedovo international airport in Moscow.

"We need a complex approach to working out preventative measures in the event of a terrorist threat. This will permit measures to be taken in time against terrorism," said the Russian leader.

As the legislation was signed into law, one police officer was injured after a suspicious package exploded near a Moscow's police building. At about 1:00 p.m. local time, the blast took place on Pyatnitskaya Street near the Zamoskvorechye district police precinct.

A police officer located a suspicious polyethylene package which had a homemade explosive device. The bomb went off as the policeman was inspecting it. The bomb's strength was equivalent to 50 kilograms of TNT.

On January 24, a suicide bombing killed 37 people and injured around 200 more in Moscow's Domodedovo airport. Chechen rebel leader Doku Umarov claimed responsibility for the attack.

Militants in Russia's North Caucasus region are a constant threat to Moscow as they execute terrorist attacks justified in their pursuit of an independent Muslim state in the area.

Russia has been heavily involved in combating militant groups in the North Caucasus area, mostly in Ingushetia and Dagestan. In April 2009, Russia ended its ten-year-long anti terrorism campaign against separatist forces in Chechnya.

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