Medvedev warns officials on militant strikes

Stung by the attack on a hydro-electrical station in the Caucasus, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday threatened to sack officials in charge of security if there was another militant strike on infrastructural installations in the country.

He also ordered them to enact a new set of security arrangements to protect the "soft" targets.

"Law enforcement and security agencies and power companies, as well as the government, must do all they can to make sure that such things do not happen again. If they do, none of the law enforcement, security and energy company chiefs will keep their jobs. All of them will be sacked," a visibly upset Medvedev in his televised remarks said.

In a pre-dawn attack on Wednesday, a group of six militants had attacked the Baksan Hydropower Plant in the Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria in volatile North Caucasus, killing two security guards.

Medvedev, who has just returned from Finland, expressed surprise at the "improper security" of the crucial installation in "the region where anti-terror operations are underway".

He ordered vice premier Igor Sechin to prepare a set of security measures within one month to ensure the security of energy infrastructure in the country.