St Petersburg Attack: Bomb Found in Raid

Three days after the lethal attack on the metro system in St Petersburg which left 14 people dead, Russian police have found an explosive device in a flat in the east of St Petersburg. The flat was raided by police today on Thursday morning at around 05:00 local time (01:00 GMT). Reuters reported that fire engines turned up at the scene and residents of the building had to be evacuated. Witnesses said that three men were led away in handcuffs. The Russian news agency Interfax reported that police were investigating possible links between the three suspects and  Akbarzhon Jalilov who is alleged to have committed the suicide bomb attack on the metro system three days ago.

Russia’s Investigative Committee had not made any references to the attacks but confirmed that “several citizens of Central Asian republics were in contact with Jalilov”.

In another incident this morning, a homeless man was injured when a bomb exploded near a school in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don. He discovered a bag containing a torch at around 6.30am (03:30 GMT). When he tried to switch it on, it exploded, tearing off his hand.