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At least 14 people were killed and dozens injured on Sunday when a female suicide bomber blew herself up in a train station in the southern Russian city of Volgograd ahead of Olympic Games in nearby Sochi.

Regional officials said the woman set off her charge after being stopped at the metal detectors at the entrance to the city's main train station while it was packed with afternoon travelers.

"It was a very powerful blast," train station store attendant Valentina Petrichenko told the Vesti24 news channel.

"Some people started running and others were thrown back by the shock wave," she said. "It was very scary."

Alexander Koblyakov, another witness, said, "People were lying on the ground, screaming and asking for help."

State television footage showed windows blown out across the top two floors of the gray brick building and numerous ambulances gathered at the station's front entrance amid piles of debris and snow.

Russia's Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said officials had launched an inquiry into a suspected "act of terror".

At least 14 people were killed and dozens injured in the attack, investigators said.

The city of Volgograd - known as Stalingrad in the Soviet era - was also attacked in October by a female suicide bomber with links to Islamists fighting federal forces in the nearby volatile North Caucasus.

The Oct 21 strike killed six people aboard a crowded bus and immediately raised security fears ahead of the Feb 7-23 Winter Games in Sochi.

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