ssinations or assassination attempts on high-profile military officials since the war.

The blast happened around 8:10 p.m. local time (1:10 p.m. ET) near the outdoor terrace, according to Russian state news agency TASS, which cited the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The restaurant is located at the base of a landmark tower on Kudrinskaya Square, one of Moscow's famous  Seven Sisters,  a group of Stalinist skyscrapers built in the 1950s.

The explosion immediately prompted the deployment of an investigative task force and a large number of police and emergency personnel to the site, which sits along the Garden Ring in Moscow's central Presnensky district.

The restaurant said it was  deeply saddened by the tragedy and extends its sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of those who were killed. 

The nature of the attack has prompted widespread speculation over who might have been targeted.

The attack bore similarities to a 2023 bombing that killed a pro-war blogger, Vladlen Tatarsky. In that incident a woman was ?jailed for ?27 years ?for delivering a bomb concealed inside a statuette that exploded in Tatarsky's hands.

The-CNN-Wire

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