A homemade bomb carried by a woman resulted in three deaths and injured at least 21 others in an explosion near a high-end restaurant in downtown Moscow on Saturday evening, authorities reported.
The blast happened shortly before 8 p.m. local time near an Italian eatery situated in one of Moscow’s seven Stalin-era skyscrapers at Kudrinkskaya Square.
Russia’s Anti-Terrorism Committee stated that an unidentified woman attempted to enter the restaurant but was stopped by a security guard, according to the state news agency RIA.
They reported that the woman, the security guard, and a customer at the Balzi Rossi Italian restaurant were killed in the explosion that ensued.
Victims sustained wounds of various severities, authorities said.
The scene, which was cordoned off to the public, showed heavily armed law enforcement personnel according to footage released by Russia’s state news agency, RIA.
Officials have not disclosed the identities of those killed or injured, nor have they identified suspects or motives.
Four years into a full-scale conflict with Ukraine, Russia’s FSB security agency announced earlier this year that security measures for senior military officials would be heightened following a series of assassinations and attempted killings attributed to Kyiv.
The daily newspaper Kommersant cited its sources suggesting that the bomb was intended to target and harm patrons enjoying the restaurant’s outdoor summer terrace.
It was also suggested that the device was triggered remotely by someone else, and that the woman believed to have been carrying it may not have known it was explosive.
The restaurant’s website indicated it was closed Saturday for a private event.