At least three people were killed and 21 others were injured after an explosion at a restaurant in the Russian capital on Saturday, authorities said.
Police said the blast occurred near the Balzi Rossi restaurant, located on the ground floor of one of Moscow’s seven Stalin-era skyscrapers in Kudrinskaya Square, reports Al Jazeera.
Investigators believe the explosion was caused by a homemade bomb carried by a woman.
In a statement posted on the Russian social media platform Max, the Ministry of Interior said the explosion took place at about 8:00pm (17:00 GMT).
Moscow police initially told state news agency RIA Novosti that the blast caused “three deaths and 15 injured, of varying degrees of seriousness”, but the number of injured later rose to 21.
Russian media reported that armed security personnel sealed off the area around the restaurant following the explosion.
Early reports from local media suggested a gas canister may have exploded.
However, Russia’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee later told state news agency TASS that an improvised explosive device caused the blast.
The committee said a woman attempted to enter the restaurant with the device but was stopped by a security guard.
According to the committee, those killed included the security guard who tried to stop the woman, the woman herself and a restaurant customer.
This information could not be independently verified. Authorities have not released the identities of the dead or injured and have yet to name a suspect.
Earlier, the Telegram monitoring channel ASTRA, citing witnesses, reported that a birthday celebration for a general was taking place near the site of the explosion.
The report could not be independently verified, and officials have not confirmed the claim.
Russian daily Kommersant, citing its own sources, reported that the bomb was intended to target guests on the restaurant’s summer terrace.
The newspaper said the device may have been detonated remotely by someone other than the woman carrying it and that she may not have known she was transporting an explosive.
The restaurant’s website stated that the venue had been closed on Saturday for a private event.
Police, firefighters and emergency response teams rushed to the scene, while authorities launched an investigation into the cause of the explosion.
Russian media reported that traffic around Kudrinskaya Square was temporarily suspended and entrances to the Barrikadnaya metro station were closed.
More than four years into Russia’s full-scale war with Ukraine, the FSB security service said earlier this year that it would strengthen security for senior military officials following a series of assassinations and attempted killings that it blamed on Kyiv.
