A deadly explosion that tore through a popular restaurant in central Moscow Saturday evening has been labeled a brutal terrorist attack by the city’s top official, as Russian law enforcement and counterterrorism agencies continue their probe into the incident with no suspects or groups stepping forward to claim credit.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin confirmed the attack in a social media post Sunday, acknowledging the loss of innocent life and confirming that injured survivors were receiving targeted medical care at city-run hospitals across the capital. “Yesterday, a brutal terrorist act was committed in Moscow that claimed human lives. The victims are currently in the city’s hospitals, where they are receiving all necessary care,” Sobyanin wrote, stopping short of assigning blame for the coordinated attack.
Per Russian state media, which cited official local sources, three people were confirmed dead in the blast: a working security guard at the restaurant, one civilian guest, and the female attacker who carried the explosive device. The National Anti-Terrorism Committee, in statements carried by Russia’s official state news agency RIA Novosti, added that at least 21 other people sustained injuries of varying degrees when the device detonated at the venue on Kudrinskaya Square, a busy public space in the heart of the city.
The Moscow Investigative Committee confirmed Saturday evening that it had launched a full official investigation into the circumstances of the attack. As of early Sunday afternoon, Russian federal and local authorities had not released any new updates on the progress of the probe, and no individual or extremist organization had issued any public statement claiming responsibility for the bombing.