Russian investigators confirm Akbarzhon Jalilov as man behind St Petersburg metro blast

Moscow: Russia's state investigative committee on Tuesday named Akbarzhon Jalilov as the man behind the St Petersburg metro blast, confirming an earlier statement from Kyrgyzstan's security services.

The committee said in a statement its investigation had identified Jalilov, whose genetic traces were also found on a bag containing an explosive device.

"From the genetic evidence and the surveillance cameras there is reason to believe that the person behind the terrorist act in the train carriage, was the same one who left a bag with an explosive device at the Ploshchad Vosstaniya station," the statement added.

The blast on Monday has killed 14 people so far and injured almost 50. "We can state today that 14 people have died," Veronika Skvortsova told journalists, adding that 49 people are still hospitalised after the explosion on Monday afternoon.

Russia's state investigative committee said on Tuesday that the deadly St Petersburg metro blast was caused by a bomb that had possibly been detonated by a man whose body parts were found in one of the train carriages.

"It has been ascertained that an explosive device could have been detonated by a man, fragments of whose body were found in the third carriage of the train," the committee, which has sweeping powers, said in a statement.

Russia's National Anti-Terrorist Committee said an explosive device had been found at a different metro station, hidden under a fire extinguisher, but had been made safe. The Investigative Committee, a state body which investigates major crimes, opened a criminal case on charges of terrorism.

The blast raised security fears beyond Russian frontiers. France, which has itself suffered a series of attacks, announced additional security measures in Paris. Video from the scene of Monday's blast showed injured people lying bleeding on a platform, some being treated by emergency services and fellow passengers.