Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Thursday the organizers of a bomb attack in the southern Russian city of Pyatigorsk must be tracked down and punished, and if they offer resistance, they must be eliminated on the spot.
At least 30 people were injured on Tuesday when a car packed with an estimated 40 kg of TNT exploded near a cafe in downtown Pyatigorsk.
"This outrageous crime must be fully investigated. All those involved must be found while its organizers must be punished - in the broadest sense of the word, in accordance with the principles of law and morality," Medvedev said.
"If they resist, they must be eliminated."
Medvedev said he had been briefed on the progress of the investigation by Internal Affairs Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev.
Nurgaliyev said earlier on Thursday police had obtained vital leads that could help them get to the bottom of the case.
Pyatigorsk is the capital of Russia's North Caucasus Federal District, which includes North Ossetia, as well as the volatile republics of Chechnya, Dagestan and Ingushetia, where terrorist attacks and militant clashes are common.
PYATIGORSK, August 19 (RIA Novosti)
