'Cruel terrorist act': Moscow mayor on restaurant blast that killed 3, injured 21

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has labeled the explosion that killed three and injured 21 people at a restaurant as a "cruel terrorist act." He pledged that those responsible would be apprehended and face justice.

The blast occurred Saturday evening near Kudrinskaya Square. According to Russia's National Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAC), a woman attempted to bring an improvised explosive device into the establishment but was stopped by a security guard. The device detonated, resulting in the deaths of the woman, the guard, and one patron. Twenty-one individuals sustained injuries and are receiving hospital treatment.

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Yesterday, a cruel terrorist act that claimed human lives was committed in Moscow. I express the deepest condolences to the families of those killed. I wish the quickest recovery to those injured.

Sobyanin extended his condolences to the victims' families and assured that law enforcement is actively investigating the circumstances. "The perpetrators of this crime will necessarily be found and will face punishment they deserve," he stated on the Max social media platform.

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The perpetrators of this crime will necessarily be found and will face punishment they deserve.

Details regarding the woman's motive or knowledge of the device remain unclear. A veteran of Russia's Alpha counter-terrorism unit, Sergey Goncharov, suggested to TASS that she might have been an unwitting courier promised money to deliver a package. He noted that similar incidents have occurred previously, though he also mentioned Russian authorities frequently arrest alleged Ukrainian intelligence agents, implying not all threats can be preempted.

Search operations and investigative measures are ongoing, according to the NAC. The committee identified the device as improvised but provided no information on its assembly or intended target. The identities of those killed and the orchestrators of the attack have not yet been established.

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She was a courier. She was promised good money.