A senior Russian army official has been killed in an explosion near a residential building in south-east Moscow this morning (Tuesday), according to Russia’s Investigative Committee, the country’s main investigative body.

Russia’s Investigative Committee said in a statement: ‘An explosive device placed in a scooter parked near the entrance to a residential building exploded on the morning of December 17 on Ryazansky Street in Moscow. It added: ‘The commander of Russia’s nuclear, chemical and biological defence forces, Igor Kirillov, and his deputy’ were killed in the blast, AFP reported.