Bomb at Central Moscow Restaurant Kills Three, Including the Woman Who Carried It

An explosion outside a restaurant in central Moscow on Saturday killed three people, including an unidentified woman who tried to carry the device inside, and wounded more than 20, Russian officials said. Accounts from Al Jazeera and The Hindu said a security guard who grew suspicious approached the woman, and the bomb detonated as he moved to search her, killing the guard and a customer as well.

The device was concealed in a gift box and packed with metal ball bearings to act as shrapnel, according to reporting on the blast at the Balzi Rossi restaurant on Kudrinskaya Square. Authorities did not immediately identify the woman or state a motive, and it was not clear whether she detonated the device deliberately.

The attack brings the war's violence into the Russian capital at a moment when Ukrainian drones are reaching deep into Russian territory. No party claimed responsibility, and the investigation is at an early stage.