IED attack at Moscow restaurant kills five, military command reportedly targeted

An improvised explosive device attack at a restaurant in central Moscow on Saturday evening 1 August has killed five people and injured 21 others, according to Russian authorities.

The blast is understood to have occurred at the upmarket Balzi Rossi restaurant on Kudrinskaya Square, only three kilometres from the Kremlin and Red Square.

According to an alert posted on the Telegram messaging service shortly after the explosion, the state news agency TASS said that a woman attempted to carry an explosive device into the establishment but was stopped by a security guard. The subsequent detonation killed both the woman and the guard, along with one restaurant patron.

Numerous online sources reported that the restaurant was hosting a private birthday celebration for a Russian general at the time of the explosion. A large quantity of vehicles with black military-style number plates were also reported parked outside the venue.

Various online commentators suggested that the birthday banquet could have been for the commander-in-chief of the Russian aerospace forces, Aleksandr Chaiko, however Russian authorities have not officially confirmed the target of the attack.

The original death toll of the explosion was put at three, however this soon rose to five after two died in hospital, according to Russian media.