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.
