Moscow mayor calls restaurant blast a terrorist attack

An explosion rocked the upscale Italian restaurant Balzi Rossi on Kudrinskaya Square in central Moscow on Saturday evening, killing three people, according to Russian state media citing local officials. Among the dead is the woman who reportedly tried to bring the bomb into the restaurant. A security guard refused to let her in, and the device detonated, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.

At least 21 people were wounded in the blast and taken to hospitals, the state-run agency said. On Sunday, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on social media that a 'brutal terrorist attack' had been carried out in the city. He stated that the injured were receiving all necessary care in city hospitals.

The restaurant had been closed for a private event on Saturday evening, RIA Novosti reported. Russia's Investigative Committee said late Saturday that the attack was still being investigated. No additional information has been provided by the authorities, and no one has publicly claimed responsibility for the explosion.

The investigation is ongoing, and officials have remained tight-lipped about possible motives or suspects. The blast occurred in a central area of the Russian capital, but no further details have been released so far.