Moscow mayor calls a deadly bomb attack on a restaurant a 'terrorist act'

Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin called on Sunday a bomb attack on a restaurant in the capital the day before a 'brutal terrorist act,' but did not say who was responsible.

'Yesterday, a brutal terrorist act was committed in Moscow that claimed human lives.'

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

At least 21 people were wounded when the explosive device detonated at the restaurant on Kudrinskaya Square, the National Anti-Terrorism Committee said late on Saturday, according to Russian state news agency Ria Novosti.

The blast on Saturday evening at the Balzi Rossi, an upscale Italian establishment in central Moscow, killed three people, including the woman bomber, Russian state media said, citing local officials.

A woman attempted to smuggle the bomb into the establishment, but a security guard refused to let her in before the bomb exploded.

The restaurant was closed for a private function on Saturday evening.

The Moscow Investigative Committee said on Saturday evening the attack was still being investigated. No one had publicly claimed responsibility.

Russian authorities have not drawn any connections between Saturday's blast and these earlier attacks or the war in Ukraine.