Unknown attackers threw a pair of firebombs at a Russian synagogue, the Interfax news agency reported on Tuesday.

The attack took place during the late hours of Monday night in St Petersburg, some 650 kilometres north of the capital Moscow.

The building, located in a working-class neighbourhood of the Baltic port city, was not damaged, nor was any synagogue staff injured, the report said.

One of the devices, a bottle filled with petrol, ricocheted off the synagogue wall and may have injured the attacker, a synagogue spokesman said.

Anti-semitic incidents take place regularly in Russia, particularly in major cities with relatively large Jewish populations.

Attacks usually take the form of anonymous attempts to damage Jewish-owned property, with physical assaults taking place less frequently. Perpetrators are often nationalist extremists.

(Source: Times Live)