IED treated as explosion cause in Stavropol

The explosion occurred after the first deputy of Stavropol Mayor was approached by his acquaintance, who had a small bag on his shoulder; it follows from the video. Investigators don’t rule out the version of a terror act.

The explosion of an improvised explosion device (IED) occurred at night in Stavropol near residential apartment buildings. Two men were killed, namely, Zaur Gurtsiev, First Deputy Mayor of Stavropol, a veteran of the special military operation (SMO) and a participant in the "Time of Heroes" programme, and his 29-year-old acquaintance, a local resident, the Stavropol Territorial Branch of the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) has reported. Investigators are considering all possible versions of the committed crime, including a terror act. "The investigative bodies have reason to believe that the crime was committed with the use of an IED," the report says.

A video record of the explosion moment has appeared on the Internet. Judging by the video, before the explosion, a man with a handbag approached Gurtsiev, and then an explosion was heard: the video was posted by the "Baza" Telegram channel.

The man who approached Gurtsiev was his 29-year-old acquaintance, who worked in 2023 in the Separate Battalion for the Guarding and Convoying of Suspects and Accused Persons of the Stavropol Territorial Branch of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA). He rented an apartment in Zaur Gurtsiev's house 15 days ago. The IED power was 200 grams in TNT (trotyl) equivalent, the “Mash” outlet writes with reference to its sources.

This was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on May 29, 2025 at 12:59 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.