Russia opened up a terrorism investigation on Wednesday after a teenager blew himself up in the lobby of a Federal Security Service (FSB) building in the northern city of Arkhangelsk. The assailant was killed and three FSB employees were wounded in the attack.

Authorities in Moscow published CCTV footage of the incident, which shows the unnamed 17-year-old entering the office of Russia's main domestic security and intelligence service. He can be seen reaching into a bag, from which investigators believe he retrieved and detonated the explosive.

Officials said that the young man was a resident of the city. Attacks on the FSB and police are uncommon outside of the restive North Caucasus region. They also said that they were working to establish the teen's identity and motive as soon as possible.

"Things are very serious," said the regional governor, Igor Orlov. "We are taking measures to increase security of all public and state buildings in Arkhangelsk region."

An official speaking on condition of anonymity told French news agency AFP that the bomber was a student at a local technical college.

Earlier in October, an 18-year-old student killed 19 people and wounded scores before shooting himself in Russian-annexed Crimea. State media blamed the "corrupting influence" of Western culture for the attack.

es/msh (AFP, Reuters)

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