Putin: Wednesday’s Blast in St. Petersburg Store A Terrorist Attack

Local Editor

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday's blast in a St. Petersburg store was a terrorist attack. Thirteen people were injured when an improvised explosive device went off in the busy supermarket.

Six people are still in hospital after the explosion in St. Petersburg, the city's deputy governor Anna Mityanina tweeted on Thursday.

The explosion, equivalent to 200 grams of TNT, was caused by a homemade explosive device filled with lethal fragments. An investigation is currently underway.

Putin gave law enforcement officers carte blanche to act decisively and "take no prisoners" if suspected terrorists resist and a police officer's life is threatened. "You know that a terrorist attack was committed yesterday in St. Petersburg. Recently, the FSB [Federal Security Service] thwarted another attempt to commit an act of terrorism. And what would have happened if the thousands [of terrorists] whom I have just mentioned, returned [to Russia] - well trained and armed?" he said.

"I have instructed the director of the Federal Security Service... to act within the framework of the law during detention [of suspected terrorists.] But if there's a threat to a police officer's life and health, our officers need to act decisively, take no prisoners, kill the assailants on the spot."

Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Thursday that Putin's words referred to those who plot terrorist attacks in Russia. When asked to specify where the terrorists would be eradicated - in Russia or overseas - Peskov replied: "No, we are talking about those who have plans to carry out terrorist attacks on the territory of our country."

The statement came as Russia's Investigative Committee said all lines of inquiry into how the explosion in St. Petersburg had occurred remained open.

Earlier this month, the US provided intelligence to Russia that helped thwart a terrorist plot likely to have "killed large numbers of people" in St. Petersburg.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team