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Improvised Bomb Explodes in St. Petersburg Supermarket, Injuring 13

Alexander Demianchuk / TASS

A bomb exploded at a supermarket in St. Petersburg on Wednesday evening, injuring at least 13 people. 

The explosion happened at around 6:45 p.m. at the busy Perekryostok supermarket on Kalinin Ploshchad. The suspect was reportedly caught on videotape as he left a knapsack at the coat check, the Fontanka news website reported, saying that he appeared to be of "non-Slavic appearance." 

“An improvised explosive device equivalent to 200 grams of TNT was set off at a shopping complex in St. Petersburg. It was packed with submunitions,” a spokesperson from Russia’s Investigative Committee was cited as saying by the Interfax news agency. 

Earlier this month, security forces arrested seven suspected members of an Islamic State (IS) sleeper cell in St. Petersburg who were reportedly preparing a suicide bombing at the city’s Kazansky Cathedral. 

In April, a suicide bomber detonated an improvised explosive in a St. Petersburg metro car, killing 15 and injuring dozens. 

The investigation of Wednesday's bombing is being coordinated by the National Anti-Terror Committee, Fontanka reports.

On Thursday morning, President Vladimir Putin called the bombing a "terrorist attack."

IS is a terrorist organization banned in Russia.

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