MOSCOW — Three people, including two police officers, were killed in Moscow in an explosion early Wednesday morning after police on patrol approached a man behaving suspiciously.

The Russian Investigative Committee (IRC) said that "two traffic police officers saw a suspicious person next to a police car."

"When they approached to stop him, an explosive device was triggered. As a result of the injuries sustained, the two police officers, as well as the person standing next to them, died," IRC added in a Telegram post.

Several Russian news channels reported that the alleged assailant was one of the three victims, but the claims could not be independently verified.

Emergency services and security forces rushed to the scene of the explosion, which was cordoned off while investigators gathered evidence.

The attack comes days after a top Russian general died Monday morning in an apparent car bomb explosion on the same street, Yeletskaya, in the Russian capital's south.

Authorities have so far reported no arrests or details regarding possible perpetrators. — Agencies