Three people - including two police officers - have been killed in an explosion in Moscow, Russian authorities have said. The explosion occurred on Yeletskaya Street when two traffic police officers approached a suspicious individual, prompting a detonation of an explosive device according to Russia's Investigative Committee.

The officers, identified as Ilya Klimanov (24) and Maxim Gorbunov (25), succumbed to their injuries alongside another individual who was nearby at the time of the blast. This incident coincided with a recent car bombing that took the life of a senior Russian general, sparking heightened concerns about security and potential connections between the two events.

Spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko from the Investigate Committee announced that a criminal case is underway regarding this attack on the traffic police. Eyewitness accounts describe the explosion as a loud bang, further fueling fears about the safety situation in Moscow.

It was reported that Russia suspects Ukrainian involvement in the prior bombing, but no claims have yet been made regarding this latest explosion. Lt. Gen Fanil Sarvarov, the general killed in the car bombing, was the third military figure to die in a terrorist act in Moscow over the past year.