Volgograd Suicide Bomber Oksana Aslanova: First Photo

This is the woman who blew herself up in a suicide attack at Volgograd train station in which 17 people were killed.

The suicide bomber was named by Russian media as Oksana Aslanova, who was in her mid-20s.

She detonated the device at the entrance to the station when police approached her with a metal detector.

One eyewitness told local media: "People were lying on the ground screaming and calling for help. Another told Rossiya-24 TV: "Some people started running and others were thrown back by the wave of the blast. It was scary."

Chechen militants were suspected of being behind the deadly blast and a second on a bus in the south Russian city, formerly known as Stalingrad. Both attacks happened within 24 hours of one another.

According to reports, Aslanova had been married twice to men who had both been killed in clashes with russian forces. Kremlin mouthpiece Russia Today reported that Aslanova had been on a Russian government wanted list since June 2012.

The blast at Volgograd train station was followed by a second bombing, on board a trolleybus during rush hour, in which at least 14 people were killed and 30 were wounded.

Unconfirmed reports claimed the attack may have been a bid by Islamist miliants to draw attention to the struggle between Russia and rebels for independence for Chechnya in the Caucasus, ahead of the start of the Sochi Winter Olympics.

The Games could be a magnet for rebels who believe they are taking place on land stolen from Muslims.

In July, the leader of a group of Chechen rebels named Doku Umarov called for a wave of attacks against Russia to prevent the Sochi Olympics taking place.