Suicide bombers target Moscow subway system

Two female suicide bombers killed at least 38 people and wounded more than 100 others earlier today when they detonated explosives on the Moscow subway at the height of rush hour.

The first blast occurred in the Lubyanka station shortly before 8 a.m., and the second destroyed a subway car near the Park Kultury station. The Moscow Times speculated Russian officials would most likely attribute the attacks to Islamist insurgents who continue to operate in the North Caucasus region. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin quickly condemned the bombings.

"A crime that is terrible in its consequences and heinous in its manner has been committed," he said.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority here in New York has beefed up security in response to the Moscow bombings, but waking up to this news brought me back to the morning of March 11, 2004 and how I found out terrorists had killed 191 people on Madrid commuter trains. The threat of terrorism here in the five boroughs periodically crosses my mind, especially if authorities thwart a plot against the subway system or a high profile landmark. That said, however, a terrorist's most effective weapon remains fear. And the best way to counter it is to remain defiant of it.