At least nine people were killed and 47 more injured in a bomb blast Monday afternoon in the St. Petersburg subway, according to Russia’s health minister. Authorities are investigating the explosion as a terrorist attack, and search warrants have been issued for two suspects according to Interfax.The attack happened between two of the busiest metro stations in Russia’s second-biggest city, with images and video posted to social media showing a mangled carriage with its doors blown off. Russia’s Anti-Terrorist Committee said a second device was found in a nearby metro station, but authorities were able to defuse it before it went off, according to the Associated Press.While Russian President Vladimir Putin was careful not to label the attack a terrorist incident earlier in the day, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev didn’t hold back. “All those who were injured in the terrorist attack in St. Petersburg metro will receive all the medical help they need,” he said on Facebook.Putin, who was in the city at the time, spoke shortly after the explosion, offering “condolences to the families of the victims and the injured.”
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The explosion in St. Petersburg comes just months after Russian authorities arrested five people suspected of links to the Islamic State militant group over plots to attack Moscow and Russia’s Caucasus region.Russian media network Interfax reported that the metro’s security camera footage may have captured pictures of a suspect involved in Monday’s explosion. No group or organization has thus far claimed responsibility.
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