Senior Russian general killed in car blast just outside Moscow

A senior Russian general has died in a car blast in the Russian city of Balashikha on Friday morning, according to authorities.

Yaroslav Moskalik, deputy head of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, was killed in the explosion of a Volkswagen Golf, Russia’s Investigative Committee said in a statement.

The blast was caused by an improvised explosive device packed with shrapnel, it added.

The Investigative Committee said it has opened a criminal probe into the case. It added that an investigative team, including forensic experts and law enforcement officers, had begun examining the scene in Balashikha, which lies less than 20 miles east of Moscow.

Russian state news agency Tass earlier reported that an explosive device had blown up a car in the city, citing emergency services. Tass reported that the device was “homemade.”

Friday’s reported blast comes two days after a fire broke at an underground car park in Moscow’s business district following an explosion there.

Read more: CNN