SUKHUM, October 17. /TASS/. The man who blew himself up in Sukhum was a resident of the Rostov Region in south Russia, Secretary of the Abkhazian Security Council Mukhamed Kilba said on Monday.

It was reported earlier on Monday that an unidentified individual had set off a bomb on the premises of Abkhazia’s state television. The bomb went off at about 07:05 a.m. Moscow time (04:05 GMT). The authorities have qualified the blast as an attempted terrorist attack.

"It has been established that the man who died today during the explosion on the premises of the Abkhazian State TV and Radio Broadcasting Company is not a citizen of Abkhazia but is a resident of the Rostov Region of the Russian Federation," Kilba said.

"It has been established that he came to the republic back on October 2. The terrorist act, which he tried to carry out, was aimed against a particular Abkhazian politician. The crime has been almost solved," Kilba added.

According to him, it has also been established that the man was in Abkhazia in summer with his comrade "apparently with the aim of reconnaissance."

"Measures are currently underway to establish the dead person’s possible contacts in the Rostov Region," the head of the Abkhazian Security Council said.

The Abkhazian authorities have disclosed neither the name of the dead person nor the name of the politician against whom the terror act had been prepared. None of the Abkhazian TV center employees or security guards were hurt in the incident.

The Sukhum Prosecutor’s Office has instituted criminal proceedings under article 198, part 1 ("Illegal Acquisition, Storage, Transportation and Bearing of Explosive Devices") of the Abkhazian Criminal Code.

Security at the Abkhazian television station has been tightened following the explosion. The Abkhazian president has instructed officials to beef up security at the republic’s facilities, including schools and kindergartens.

The bomb contained up to 200 grams of TNT, Secretary of the Abkhazian Security Council Kilba told TASS.

"Based on the latest information, the explosive device was a nail bomb with about 150-200 grams of TNT," he said.