A bomb hidden in an electric scooter killed a senior Russian general in charge of nuclear protection forces in Moscow on Tuesday, Russia's investigative committee said.
Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, who is chief of Russia's Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops, was killed outside an apartment building on Ryazansky Prospekt, around 7 km (4.35 miles) southeast of the Kremlin.
"Igor Kirillov, the head of the radiation, chemical and biological protection forces of the armed forces of the Russian Federation, and his assistant were killed," the investigative committee said.
The explosive was reportedly detonated remotely, Russian media said citing security sources.
The explosion comes a day after Ukrainian prosecutors charged Kirillov with using banned chemical weapons in Ukraine.
Authorities have not yet disclosed more information.
Israeli raids targeting several areas across Lebanon on Tuesday killed 31 people and wounded 40 others, Lebanon's health ministry said, in one of the heaviest days of bombing in weeks.
Israel said on Wednesday it had killed Hamas's newly appointed armed wing chief in Gaza, days after it killed his predecessor, while intensifying military pressure in Gaza and expanding operations in Lebanon.
Syria's transitional leadership has located remnants of former President Bashar al-Assad's clandestine chemical weapons programme, including raw materials and munitions similar to those used to carry out deadly gas attacks during the country's long-running civil war.
A chemical tank imploded and ruptured at a Nippon Dynawave Packaging facility in the US state of Washington on Tuesday, resulting in one death and nine injuries, while nine others remained unaccounted for as of Tuesday night, authorities said.