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Kumar Malhotra
Image source
The distinctive yellow-fronted apartment block in the background helped us locate the footage.
We are analyzing images and video circulated earlier today that purport to show the scene of a alleged vehicle-borne explosive blast that authorities in Russia say killed a senior military officer in Moscow.
Russian authorities stated that Lt Gen Fanil Sarvarov was inside the vehicle that detonated and that he succumbed of his injuries. An investigation is under way.
The initial step to verify the site of where the images were from was based on social media reports saying the blast happened on Yasenevaya Street in the southern part of the Russian capital.
We used panoramic mapping services on digital map platforms and the local mapping service Yandex Maps to corroborate the distinctive yellow hue of a adjacent residential complex seen in the footage.
Identifying other structures, lamp-posts and the road configuration verified the exact location the pictures were captured.
We also checked that the videos were new and that the images had not undergone digital alteration.
