Three people were killed and 21 others injured after an improvised explosive device detonated at a restaurant in central Moscow, Russia's National Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAC) said on Saturday.

According to the NAC, a woman attempted to bring the explosive device into the restaurant near Kudrinskaya Square. She was killed when it detonated.

One of the other two fatalities was a security guard who had prevented the woman from entering the restaurant with the explosive device, the NAC said. The third victim was a restaurant patron.