Russian military intelligence officer injured in Moscow car bomb attack, Kommersant says

A moment of a car blast that reportedly injured an officer from Russia's GRU military intelligence is captured, in Moscow, Russia July 24, 2024 in this picture obtained by Reuters from a social media video.

MOSCOW - A car bomb injured an officer from Russia's military intelligence agency in northern Moscow on Wednesday, the Kommersant newspaper reported.

Russia's interior ministry said that two people were injured in a blast caused by the detonation of an unidentified device and said that a criminal case had been opened.

Alexander Bortnikov, head of the Federal Security Service (FSB), told the SHOT Telegram channel that the suspect had fled to Turkey and that the FSB was working to extradite the individual.

Later on Wednesday, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said in a post on X that a Russian citizen suspected of the attack had been arrested in Bodrum, having arrived from Moscow by plane.

Footage shared by Russian media showed an explosion ripping through a Toyota Land Cruiser shortly after the officer and an unidentified woman got into the vehicle.

Kommersant, one of Russia's leading newspapers, said that the injured man served in the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, widely referred to as GRU.

Baza, which has sources in Russia's security services, also said the injured man was a GRU officer.

State news agency TASS said that an officer and his wife had been injured in the blast. The man's feet were blown off, according to TASS. Five other cars were damaged in the blast, the agency said.

Reuters was unable to independently verify the reports.