Bombing at Italian restaurant in Moscow branded ‘cruel act of terror' after killing at least three

At least three people have died, and more than 20 have been injured in a ‘brutal terror attack’ near a restaurant in Moscow.

On Saturday (1 August), a homemade explosive device was detonated near an Italian restaurant in one of Moscow’s seven Stalin-era skyscrapers on Kudrinskaya Square at around 8pm local time, police confirmed.

The nation’s Anti-Terrorist Committee has said an unidentified woman attempted to get into the Balzi Rossi restaurant.

It’s understood that the upscale establishment had been closed to the public as it was hosting a private event, as per the Russian state news agency Ria Novosti.

The woman was stopped from smuggling in the improvised explosive device by a security guard.

Russian news outlets have suggested she may have been a courier trying to deliver a package to one of the guests at a private function.

A criminal investigation into the attack is currently underway (Contributor/Getty Images)

Both the woman and the security guard, who attempted to bar her entry, were killed in the blast.

A customer of the eatery was also killed, reports claim.

21 others were injured, with some believed to be in hospital in a serious condition, Ren TV reported.

The BBC wrote that authorities have not said who they believe the target of the attack was, nor have they named the people who were killed.

Moscow’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, has since released a statement condemning the ‘brutal terrorist attack’.

Speaking on how the bombing ‘claimed human lives’, the 68-year-old continued: “The victims are currently in the city’s hospitals, where they are receiving all necessary care.

“Those responsible for committing this crime will certainly be found and will face the punishment they deserve.”

Reports state that the Moscow Investigative Committee is still investigating the attack.

No further information from Russian authorities has been released. No one has yet publicly claimed responsibility, The Associated Press said.

Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin has condemned the attack (Contributor/Getty Images)

However, a statement from the Russian Embassy in Italy has blamed the restaurant blast on Ukraine.

"It is clear that when planning a terrorist attack on one of the best Italian restaurants in Moscow, the Kyiv terrorists wanted to scare Italians working in Russia..." the embassy declared, as per the BBC.

Footage has since been released by Russian state media showing heavily armed law-enforcement officials, ambulances, and other emergency vehicles at the site of the tragedy, PBS reported.

According to BBC reporter Steve Rosenberg, officers lifted the police cordon on Monday (3 August).

The restaurant apparently has a ‘shattered window, pock-marked walls’,

The event comes just months after Russia's Federal Security Service announced authorities would tighten security around senior military and government officials.

The decision was broadcast after a series of assassination attempts in various Russian cities amid the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022.