Russian President Calls Blast in St. Petersburg Terror Attack

The head of state ordered Russia’s Federal Security Service, the FSB, to act within the law when detaining criminals, but in the event of a threat to the lives of law enforcement officers, no one should be captured but should be eliminated on the spot, TASS reported.

"A terror attack was committed in St. Petersburg yesterday. The Federal Security Service recently thwarted another attempted terror attack," the head of state said at a meeting with the military personnel who took part in the operation in Syria.

Putin noted that yesterday he "instructed the director of the Federal Security Service to act within the law, only the law, while working with these terrorists, while detaining them."

"However, if there is a threat to the lives and health of our employees, our officers, to act decisively, not to capture anyone and eliminate gunmen on the spot," the president stressed.

A total of 13 people have been injured in an explosion in a supermarket in St. Petersburg, according to the latest data, eight of them remain in hospitals.