ALBAWABA - An explosion rattled a coffee shop in Russia's St. Petersburg, according to news reports, which attributed the blast on a bomb.
Insider Paper, quoting the Russian interior ministry, said a leading Russian military blogger was killed in Sunday's explosion in Russia’s second-largest city of Saint Petersburg. "One person was killed in the incident. He was military correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky," the ministry said on Telegram.
Investigators later said they had confirmed "an unidentified explosive device exploded in a cafe in central St Petersburg."
At least 19 other people were injured, according to the statement.
The TASS news agency quoted a law enforcement source as saying the blast was "caused by an improvised explosive device hidden inside a statue given to Tatarsky as a gift," according to the Insider Paper.
Tatarsky, whose real name is Maxim Fomin, has more than 500,000 followers on Telegram and is in favor of Russia’s campaign in Ukraine.
The explosion occurred at "Street Food Bar No. 1" in the city center, with the interior ministry saying police had been called to the scene at 6:13 pm (1513 GMT), Insider paper noted.
A group called Cyber Front Z, which refers to itself on social media as "Russia’s information troops," said it had hired out the cafe for the evening. "There was a terrorist attack. We took certain security measures, but unfortunately they were not enough," the group said on Telegram.
A video showed the shop's glass window blown out to a main street.
NEW ? Bomb explosion in Cafe in St. Petersburg, Russia — Russian military blogger killed pic.twitter.com/mvZ5h8fkgQ
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) April 2, 2023
