MOSCOW, December 17. /TASS/. The power of the improvised explosive device (IED) that killed Chief of Russia’s Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Troops Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov in Moscow was equivalent to over one kilogram of TNT, a law enforcement official told TASS.

"According to updated data, the power of the explosive device was equivalent to more than one kilogram of TNT," he said.

According to investigators, an explosive device planted in a scooter was detonated near the entrance of an apartment building on Ryazansky Avenue in southeast Moscow on the morning of December 17. The blast killed Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, chief of Russia’s Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Troops, and his assistant. The Russian Investigative Committee launched a criminal investigation under articles 105, 205 and 222 of the Russian Criminal Code ("Murder," "Act of Terrorism," "Weapons and Ammunition Trafficking"). Work is underway to establish all those involved in the crime.