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St. Petersburg Military School Explosion Was an Attack, Media Reports

Alexander Demyanchuk / TASS

Russian authorities believe Tuesday's explosion that injured four people at a St. Petersburg military and space academy was a deliberate attack, the Kommersant business daily has reported.

The Investigative Committee opened a criminal investigation into attempted murder after the blast at the Mozhaysky Military Space Academy injured four officers midday Tuesday.

The bomb, which was triggered by a converted cellphone, was packed with plastic explosives equivalent to 500 grams of TNT, Kommersant wrote, citing the investigators’ preliminary conclusions.

The explosive device detonated under a staircase leading to the academy’s personnel department, Kommersant cited military investigators as saying.

No potential suspects have been named, the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) news outlet reported.

Four academy employees — Colonel Nikolai Kurday, Major Andrei Tonyshev, Senior Lieutenant Valentina Golovachyova and Colonel Rifat Zakirov — were injured in the incident.

An academy student is currently standing trial for allegedly planning a terror attack there last year.

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