Explosion kills three at a Moscow restaurant during reported general's birthday party, Russia says IED not gas leak caused blast
An explosion tore through a restaurant in central Moscow on Saturday, killing three people. Russia's Anti-Terrorism Committee says an IED caused it, not a gas leak as first reported. Some accounts link it to a Russian general's birthday. No group has claimed responsibility. Per A
An explosion tore through the Balzi Rossi restaurant on Kudrinskaya Square in central Moscow on Saturday, killing three people, according to Al Jazeera and Ukrainska Pravda. Russia's National Anti-Terrorism Committee said an improvised explosive device caused the blast, dismissing initial reports of a gas leak. Citing law enforcement sources, Russia's Kommersant newspaper reported that a woman approached the restaurant carrying a box she described as a gift; when a security guard opened it, it detonated. Accounts of the event differ. Several Russian and Ukrainian Telegram channels linked the private gathering to a birthday celebration for a Russian Aerospace Forces general, while other local reports describe it as a wedding reception. No group has claimed responsibility. Because the attack took place inside Moscow rather than near the war's front line in Ukraine, it adds to a pattern of unclaimed explosions on Russian soil that authorities have struggled to publicly attribute.