Arrests made in Belarus subway bombing labeled “terrorist act” (VIDEO)

Belarus authorities have reportedly detained several people over the Minsk subway bombing that killed at least 12 and wounded more than 200 on Monday.

News agencies quoted deputy prosecutor general Andrei Shved as saying several people had been held over the "terrorist act," although it was not clear if those people were regarded as suspects.

Meanwhile, Belarus' domestic security agency, which still goes under its Soviet-era name KGB, said it had identified the likely perpetrator of the rush hour bombing at a busy downtown subway station, though it did not have him in custody, according to the Associated Press. The BBC reported that police had created composite pictures of two male suspects using testimony from witnesses.

KGB agents reportedly searched one of the main Belarussian independent newspapers, Nasha Niva. "They are blockading us in the editorial offices" and demanding the paper turn over videos taken at the blast site, editor Andrei Skurko told the AP.

Interior Minister Anatoly Kuleshov said the bomb, which exploded as people were coming off trains Monday evening at the Oktyabrskaya station, was placed under a bench and apparently was radio-controlled. The bomb, packed with nails and ball bearings, according to the BBC.

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko reportedly said it may have been "a gift from abroad" to destabilize the country.

According to GlobalPost's Russia correspondent, Miriam Elder, writing in the Bric Yard blog, Oktyabrskaya metro station is located close to the Lukashenko's residence.

The opposition has voiced fears that Lukashenko might use the attack to launch an increased crackdown on dissent.

Lukashenko, dubbed "Europe's last dictator" by the West, has run the former Soviet nation of 10 million for nearly 17 years, retaining Soviet-style controls over the economy and cracking down on opposition and independent media.

He was re-elected to a fourth term in December elections that were widely criticized as neither free nor fair. An opposition protest at the results erupted into violence when security services cracked down. Lukashenko has been bearing down on the opposition ever since.

The president took his 6-year-old son to visit the site of the explosion about two hours after the blast, according to the AP. He then ordered the country's feared security forces to "turn everything inside-out" to find the culprits.

According to Elder, Belarus appears to be in a downward spiral. She writes:

Things aren’t looking good economically — the government has already allowed a 10 percent slide in the ruble against the dollar, and some bankers expect a further devaluation soon.

The blast received nearly immediate coverage on state-run TV, which raised some eyebrows. After all, dictatorships hate and fear nothing more than uncertainty.

Last month, out of nowhere, Lukashenko compared the situation in Belarus to Chechnya, the troubled republic once home to Russia’s most violent separatist rebels. “If someone in our midst wants Belarus to have a Chechnya in the West – that’s no problem, but it will be more difficult than in Chechnya. I think no one needs that.” He also spoke against the turmoil in the Middle East: “From this Tunisia-ization and Cairo-ization, the world will continue to shudder.”