Three people were killed and at least 21 injured after a homemade bomb carried by a woman exploded near an upscale restaurant in central Moscow yesterday evening, authorities said.
The blast struck shortly before 8pm local time near an Italian restaurant housed in one of Moscow’s seven Stalin-era skyscrapers at Kudrinskaya Square, police said.
According to Russia’s Anti-Terrorism Committee, an unidentified woman attempted to enter the restaurant but was stopped by a security guard, the state-run RIA news agency reported.
The woman, the guard and a customer at the Balzi Rossi Italian restaurant died in the explosion that followed, the committee said.
RIA released footage showing heavily armed law enforcement officers at the scene, which had been sealed off from the public.
The explosion occurred just before 8pm local time yesterday
Authorities have not released the names of those killed or wounded and have not identified a suspected perpetrator.
More than four years into Russia’s full-scale war with Ukraine, the FSB security service said earlier this year that it would strengthen protection for senior military officials following a series of assassinations and attempted killings it attributed to Kyiv.
The Kommersant newspaper, citing its own sources, reported that the explosive was intended to maim or kill diners gathered on the restaurant’s outdoor summer terrace.
The restaurant’s website said the venue had been closed yesterday for a private event.
Watch: Aftermath of bomb near Moscow restaurant
