Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has visited the North Caucasus to reinforce efforts to apprehend the militants behind a spate of suicide bombings including an attack on the Moscow metro.
This week's bombings in Moscow and the North Caucasus region of Dagestan killed over 50 people, spreading fear of resurgent militancy throughout Russia's cities.
The President, at a meeting in Dagestan's capital Makhachkala, said 'we must deal sharp dagger blows to the terrorists, and destroy them and their lairs.'
Mr Medvedev continued 'We have ripped the heads off the most infamous bandits but it appears that this was not enough. We will track them all down in due time and will punish them all, just as we did the previous ones.'
He said the Interior Ministry and Federal Security Service (FSB) should be strengthened to deal with the challenge.
There has been a surge in violence over the past year in the North Caucasus republics, where Russia has fought two wars against Chechen separatists since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union.
Last November a bomb claimed by Chechen rebel leader Doku Umarov derailed the Moscow-St Petersburg Nevsky Express train, killing at least 26 people.
Umarov claimed responsibility on Wednesday for the metro bombings, saying they were revenge for Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's policies in the mainly-Muslim North Caucasus. He threatened further attacks on Russian cities.
FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov said the latest attacks had been carried out by militant groups linked to the North Caucasus and that suspects had been detained, but gave no details.
Since President Medvedev was sworn in as president in May 2008, Medvedev has singled out strife in the North Caucasus as Russia's most serious domestic problem and spoken about the need to fight poverty and corruption, though residents say little has changed on the ground.
