A view shows damaged cars, including a Toyota Land Cruiser, following an explosion caused by the detonation of an unidentified device, which reportedly injured an officer from Russia’s military intelligence agency, in the courtyard of a residential building in Moscow, Russia, July 24, 2024.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

Two persons were wounded in a Moscow car bombing on July 24, with investigators probing the incident amid conflicting reports over whether a Russian military official and his wife were involved.

Officials said an unidentified explosive device tore apart a car in a residential courtyard in the north of the capital.

“Two people were wounded. The victims were taken to a medical facility by ambulance,” Interior Ministry spokeswoman Irina Volk added in a post on Telegram, without providing further details.

Citing unnamed sources in law enforcement, the state-run TASS news agency and several other outlets initially reported that a Russian military official named Andrei Torgashov — identified as a “serviceman and participant in the special military operation” in Ukraine — and his wife were hit.

But hours later that version was brought into question when several state outlets and Telegram channels reported they had spoken to Mr. Torgashov and his wife, who were unaffected.

“It’s a complete fake. This explosion has nothing to do with me,” RIA Novosti cited Mr. Torgashov as saying.

He said the car was not his and that he lived in a different part of the capital.

The Mash Telegram channel, which has connections to Russian authorities, posted what it said was CCTV footage of a man placing a device under a silver SUV in the middle of the night.

It also published footage that showed the same vehicle exploding seconds after a man got into the driver’s seat early on July 24.

The Investigative Committee said a unit that deals with “especially important cases” was running the investigation.

Several Russian military and pro-Kremlin public figures have been targeted in car bombings since Moscow launched its offensive on Ukraine in February 2022.