Moscow: IED explosion at bus stop injures three

At least three people have been injured in Moscow when an improvised explosive device (IED) blew up at a bus stop on 7 December. The explosion took place on Pokrovka street, just over 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) from Red Square and reports in Russian media suggest that the device was launched at a group of people who were standing at the bus stop.

"Three people were lightly injured by fragments of glass from the bus stop," police spokesman Andrey Galiakberov was quoted as saying by the state-run TASS news agency. "According to preliminary data, the cause of the explosion at the bus stop located on Pokrovka street, could be a homemade firecracker, thrown from a passing car window or an apartment building," Galiakberov added. A hooliganism inquiry into the incident is underway.

Three women were receiving treatment for cuts and shrapnel wounds from the blast and none of them are in a serious condition. "An unknown home-made explosive device has gone off at a public transport stop injuring three people," a police source said. "Two women were taken to hospital with shrapnel wounds while the third victim suffered minor cuts and was given medical assistance on the spot."

Images of the scene surfaced on social media in which broken glass could be seen around the bus stop, which was cordoned off and surrounded by emergency vehicles. According to Sputnik News, sources have indicated that the explosive device was homemade.