Explosion in Russia injures 10 at market

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia -- At least 10 people were injured Wednesday by an explosion at a supermarket in St. Petersburg, Russian officials said.

The Investigative Committee, the nation's top investigative agency, said a device containing 7 ounces of explosives went off at a storage area for customers' bags.

No one has claimed responsibility for the explosion at a branch of the Perekrestok supermarket chain in the city's northwest Kalininsky district.

Alexander Klaus, the chief of the local branch of the Investigative Committee, said 10 people were hospitalized with injuries.

A criminal investigation has been launched.

Viktoria Gordeyeva, a St. Petersburg resident who walked past the supermarket shortly after the explosion, said people were afraid to enter other stores in the area.

"There was no panic, but people were reluctant to enter a nearby drug store and a grocery store," Gordeyeva said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin telephoned U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month to thank him for a CIA tip that helped thwart a series of bombings in St. Petersburg. The Federal Security Service, or FSB, said seven suspects linked to the Islamic State group were arrested in connection to the alleged plot.

The Kremlin said the arrested suspects had planned to bomb St. Petersburg's Kazan Cathedral and other crowded sites.

In April, a suicide bombing in the St. Petersburg's subway left 16 people dead and wounded more than 50.