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Bomb near Kudrinskaya Square
A homemade bomb carried by a woman killed three people and injured at least 21 in an explosion near an upscale Italian restaurant in central Moscow on Saturday evening, Russian authorities said.
“killed three people and injured at least 21”
The blast occurred just before 8 p.m. local time close to the Balzi Rossi Italian restaurant at Kudrinskaya Square, near one of Moscow’s seven Stalin-era skyscrapers, police said.
Russia’s Anti-Terrorism Committee said the unidentified woman tried to get into the restaurant but was stopped by a security guard, and the woman, the guard and a customer were killed in the blast that followed.
The RIA news agency released video of heavily armed law enforcement officers at the scene, which had been closed off to the public, while authorities did not name those killed or injured or say who might have been responsible.
Investigation and competing details
Russian state media, citing local officials, said the bomber was also killed, while the National Anti-Terrorism Committee said the woman attempted to carry the explosive device into the restaurant but was stopped by a security guard.
The BBC reported that the National Anti-Terrorist Committee said the device detonated, killing the woman, the guard and a visitor, and it said witnesses saw people being brought out covered in blood after the explosion.
The BBC also said the restaurant later put out a statement saying everything was ok inside and that "there was a problem outside".
In a separate account, the Kommersant daily newspaper cited its own sources as saying the bomb had been intended to maim and kill guests on the restaurant’s summer terrace and suggested it may have been set off remotely.
Security focus and wider fallout
Russia’s FSB security service said earlier this year that authorities would step up protection for high-ranking military officials after a series of assassinations and attempted killings it blamed on Kyiv, as the Moscow blast was investigated.
“authorities would step up protection for high-ranking military officials”
The Daily Beast said the explosion occurred around 8 p.m. local time at the Balzi Rossi restaurant on Kudrinskaya Square and reported that Russian and Ukrainian Telegram channels claimed the restaurant was closed for a private event celebrating the 55th birthday of General Alexander Chayko.
The Daily Beast added that those claims have not been officially confirmed and that other local reports cited witnesses who said a wedding reception had been underway at the restaurant.
In the immediate aftermath, the blast prompted the deployment of an investigative task force and a large number of police and emergency personnel, and the Daily Beast reported that Moscow’s Department of Transport postponed its Night Bike Festival scheduled to begin later Saturday.
