10 dead in train bombing
10 dead in terror blast
A MANHUNT was under way last night for a terrorist nail bomber who killed 10 and injured dozens more on an underground train.
Pictures of a bearded suspect were released after the attack in St Petersburg, Russia.
A NAIL bomber killed at least 10 people and injured dozens more in an underground terror blast.
A manhunt was launched last night after the attack blew apart a train as it travelled between two metro stations in the Russian city of St Petersburg.
Screaming passengers called for ambulances as they dragged mutilated victims from the mangled wreckage.
Bodies were strewn across the platform as plumes of smoke and dust billowed through the Technology Institute station.
A shocked witness said: “People were bleeding, their hair burned. We were told to move to the exit. People just fled. My girlfriend was in the next car that exploded. When she came out, she saw that people were mutilated.”
Officials last night released a grainy CCTV picture of a bearded suspect who was wearing a black hat.
They said they were looking at all areas of the attack, including terrorism.
The rail network was put in immediate lockdown as bomb squads rushed to search transport hubs. Another device was later deactivated at Ploshchad Vosstaniya station.
Russian president Vladimir Putin was visiting the city – his home town – for a meeting. He wanted to visit the scene immediately but was held back by security services.
He said “all possible causes” were being considered including a terror attack.
Police are investigating whether the blast was inspired by the Islamic State terror group as fears grew that the death toll could rise further with 47 people injured.
Isis supporters celebrated the carnage on social media and shared graphic images of the victims. But no-one had officially claimed responsibility for the bloodbath last night. The British Foreign Office offered support to any UK citizens stranded in the city.
An Isis propaganda poster spread days before the blast showed a falling Kremlin with the message: “We Will Burn Russia.”
The bomb may have been planted in a briefcase by a man who then moved carriages, a witness told police. Security was ramped up across the country in the immediate aftermath. Russian football teams playing last night announced they would hold a minute’s silences.
Spartak Moscow’s official Twitter account expressed “deep condolences” to the victims.
France also stepped up the police presence on its public transport after the attack, the French Interior Ministry said.