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1st Ld Writethru: Bomb defused in St. Petersburg apartment

Xinhua, April 6, 2017 Adjust font size:

An explosive device was found and defused in a residential building in St Petersburg, Russia and several suspects have been detained, local media reported Thursday.

Konstantin Serov, head of the city's Nevsky District, said that the evacuated residents are allowed to go back home; the investigation is still underway.

According to Serov, the occupants of the apartment where the explosive device was found are not the home owners.

Federal Security Service agents found a suspicious object that could pose a risk of explosion in a residential building in the Nevsky District at around 5 a.m. local time (0200GMT) and residents were evacuated three hours later, Russian news agency Interfax reported.

The emergency came after 14 people were killed and dozens injured in a bomb attack in the St. Petersburg subway on Monday.

On Wednesday, six Central Asian nationals were detained Wednesday in St. Petersburg, Russia, on suspicion of facilitating terrorist activities and recruiting their compatriots for terrorist groups.

Serov did not disclose whether Thursday's bomb incident has links with the perpetrator of the deadly subway blast or any terrorist group. Endi