Russian President Vladimir Putin called on police to ‘act decisively’ and ‘liquidate bandits on the spot’ today after an explosion in St Petersburg last night wounded 13 people.
‘As you know, an act of terror took place in St Petersburg yesterday,’ Putin said at a ceremony to award officers who took part in the Syria campaign.
It comes as CCTV footage showing the bombing suspect walking into a shop with a backpack spread online.
Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters that Putin was referring to all those ‘who harbour plans to carry out acts of terror in our country.’
Newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets reported today that the blast was ‘most likely an act of terror’, citing Russian security services sources. Pictured: Vladimir Putin today
Putin (pictured today) said he yesterday ordered the FSB security service chief Alexander Bortnikov that agents should take no prisoners and shoot to kill when faced with terrorists
President Vladimir Putin makes a toast during an award ceremony in the Kremlin, Moscow for Russian Armed Forces service personnel who took part in the anti-terrorist operation in Syria
The attack came ten days after Vladimir Putin called Donald Trump to thank him for a CIA tip that led to the prevention of a planned bomb attack in St Petersburg
Last night, a homemade bomb placed in a locker at the supermarket in St Petersburg, Russia’s second city and Putin’s hometown, exploded.
Those wounded in the attack included a 35-year-old pregnant woman.
The blast was a ‘deliberate attempt to kill’, according to the authorities in St Petersburg.
Eight of the wounded remain in hospital in the Russian city – a key venue for FIFA World Cup matches next year.
In footage from St Petersburg ,a suspect wearing a green coat and hood is seen entering a shop with a backpack believed by police to contain a bomb with the power of 200 grams of TNT.
The blast was a ‘deliberate attempt to kill’, according to the authorities in St Petersburg. Pictured: What investigators believe to be the shocking moment a suspect bomber walks into a busy supermarket to place an explosive device packed with shrapnel into a storage locker for customer bags
The man (pictured) is believed to have gone round the store and left immediately without the backpack
In the event, 13 were wounded and eight remain in hospital in the Russian city – a key venue for FIFA World Cup matches next year. Pictured: A man walking into the supermarket with a backpack
The suspect, wearing a green coat and hood, is seen entering the shop with a backpack believed by police to contain a bomb with the power of 200 grams of TNT
He walks to the right where, unseen by the camera, he deposits the backpack.
Then he is seen by the camera walking quickly as he enters the shop.
He is believed to have gone round the store and left immediately without the backpack.
A ‘homemade explosive device’ packed with ‘killing agents’ – or ball bearings – was used in the blast, according to officials.
Putin said he yesterday ordered the FSB security service chief Alexander Bortnikov that agents should take no prisoners and shoot to kill when faced with terrorists.
Putin said he ‘instructed the director of the Federal Security Service to act within the law, only the law, while working with these terrorists, while detaining them.
A ‘homemade explosive device’ packed with ‘killing agents’ – or ball bearings – was used in the blast, according to officials. Pictured: The aftermath
‘As you know, an act of terror took place in Saint Petersburg yesterday,’ Vladimir Putin said at a meeting of military officers in the Kremlin. Pictured: The shop after the blast
Officially the blast has been classed as attempted murder but the probe into the explosion in the crowded supermarket is being headed by the country’s Anti-Terrorism Committee. Pictured: What remains of the shop’s interior after the explosion
The FSB – successor to the Soviet-era KGB – has warned that terrorism poses the biggest threat to next year’s World Cup. Pictured: The wrecked shop
The FSB has warned about the risk of explosions in public places and the threat from jihadists acting on lone wolf missions
Yesterday’s attack was at a Perekryostok supermarket in the northeast of St Petersburg, Russia’s second largest city
‘However, if there is a threat to the lives and health of our employees, our officers, to act decisively, not to capture anyone and eliminate gunmen on the spot,’ said the Kremlin president.
Newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets reported today that the blast was ‘most likely an act of terror’, citing Russian security services sources.
‘We know that there are several ‘sleeping’ or deeply hidden terrorist units in St Petersburg, and it cannot be ruled out that one of them woke up,’ said a source.
Officially the blast has been classed as attempted murder but the probe into the explosion in the crowded supermarket is being headed by the country’s Anti-Terrorism Committee.
The committee said the explosion went off after ‘a criminal placed an unidentified explosive device in a storage locker.’
The FSB – successor to the Soviet-era KGB – has warned that terrorism poses the biggest threat to next year’s World Cup.
Another major security headache in 2018 is the March presidential election when Vladimir Putin will seek another six years in the Kremlin.
The FSB has warned about the risk of explosions in public places and the threat from jihadists acting on lone wolf missions.
However, as yet there is no hard evidence as to the motive of an attack for which there has not been a claim of responsibility.
Emergency services vehicles are parked near a supermarket after the explosion in St Petersburg
The bomb had been hidden in a locker where shoppers leave their belongings in a branch of the Perekrestok supermarket chain. Pictured above, investigators evaluate the scene
Investigators have launched a criminal investigation into the explosion. Pictured above, emergency responders at the scene
But Fontanka news agency – which released the CCTV footage of the suspect – likened the explosive device to one used by a jihadist suicide bomber in St Petersburg metro in April, which killed 16.
That bombing was claimed by a group linked to Al-Qaeda which said it was a message to countries engaged in war with Muslims, a veiled reference to Russia’s military campaign in Syria.
Yesterday’s attack was at a Perekryostok supermarket in the northeast of St Petersburg, Russia’s second largest city.
The attack came ten days after Vladimir Putin called Donald Trump to thank him for a CIA tip that led to the prevention of a planned bomb attack in St Petersburg.
The thwarted attack was believed to have been targeted at Kazan Cathedral in the city centre.
The Russian authorities are on high alert ahead of New Year celebrations across the country.