Following the Venezuela-linked Oil Tanker Reportedly Pursued by the US Coast Guard

Yi Ma

Source

Our team is verifying images and video posted earlier today that depict the aftermath of a reported vehicle-borne explosive blast that Russian officials say killed a senior military officer in Moscow.

Officials in Russia confirmed that Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov was inside the vehicle that exploded and that he later died of his injuries. An investigation is under way.

The initial step to verify the location from which the pictures originated was based on social media reports indicating the explosion occurred on Yasenevaya Street in the southern district of the Russian capital.

Our analysis employed panoramic mapping services on Google Maps and the local mapping service Yandex to corroborate the unique yellow hue of a nearby apartment building captured in the footage.

Identifying additional structures, lamp-posts and the road configuration verified the exact location the pictures were captured.

Additionally, we verified that the video clips were recent and that the images had not been manipulated.