Russian President Dmitry Medvedev paid a surprise visit to the North Caucasus Republic of Dagestan Thursday, in the wake of deadly suicide bombings that took place there and in Moscow earlier in the week.

Twelve people were killed in the Dagestani town of Kizlyar in two suicide bombings Wednesday morning, following the twin suicide bomber attacks that claimed 39 lives in the capital Monday.

Medvedev met with security chiefs and regional leaders in the Dagestani capital of Makhachkala, where he demanded swifter and harsher reactions to terrorism.

"We must deal sharp dagger blows to the terrorists, destroy them and their lairs,” he said.

"The list of measures to fight terrorism must be widened: (the measures) must not only be effective but tough, severe and preventive. We need to punish," Medvedev said.

Linked attacks?

According to the Kommersant daily newspaper, the two women who carried out the suicide bombings in Moscow are believed to have taken a bus there from the town of Kizlyar, where Wednesday's attacks took place.

The newspaper also quotes sources as saying that the two women were among 30 recruits trained to commit suicide attacks by a militant group.

Doku Umarov, the leader of the Chechen Islamist group "Emirate of the Caucasus," claimed responsibility for the Moscow attacks in a video posted online on Wednesday, the authenticity of which has yet to be independently confirmed. In the video he said that the blasts were revenge for Russia's "brutal occupation" of the North Caucasus under Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

"This is why the war is coming into your streets," the man in the video said.

Though the Kremlin has not confirmed a direct link between the attacks, Medvedev referred to them as "links in one chain." He said that terrorists were trying to "sow fear and panic in the population," and promised, "We will not allow this."

Funerals for many of the victims from the Moscow bombings were held Thursday at nine cemeteries in Moscow and in the southern city of Krasnodar.

Preventing future attacks

While President Medvedev has vowed to deal with terrorists harshly, he has also adopted a balanced position by recognizing the roots of social unrest in the region, namely poverty.

Medvedev urged Russia's tycoons - many of whom hail from the volatile North Caucasus - to help the government by rebuilding the region.

"You can't invest in Moscow and abroad all the time," he said. "You need to pay off debts to your native land."

Newly-appointed envoy to the North Caucasus, Alexander Khloponin, said stability would remain elusive until officials earned the support of the region's impoverished people.

"We will never cope with this task if we do not have the full support of our residents," said Khloponin.

dl/dpa/Reuters/AFP

Editor: Susan Houlton