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Russian security officer dies in Moscow shooting incident

An unidentified gunman opened fire outside the Moscow headquarters of Russia's top security agency, killing one officer and wounding five others, officials have said.

The Federal Security Service, or FSB, said the assailant was acting alone and did not enter its building.

Earlier, it said the assailant had been "neutralised" — a term usually used by Russian officials when an assailant is killed.

The Health Ministry said that five other people were wounded in the shooting, including two security officers who were badly injured by the gunman.

The FSB said the shooting occurred at a building directly behind its headquarters on Lubyanka Square.

Russia Moscow Shooting
Russian special forces secure the area at the building of the Federal Security Service (Pavel Golovkin/AP)

The agency, which is the main successor agency to the Soviet-era KGB, would not give further details or comment on the attacker's motives.

In a video shared on social media, loud shots and bangs can be heard.

Robert Anchipolovsky, an Israeli musician, was on the way to his concert in Moscow when he started filming the street from his car. As he started filming, the shooting began.

"I thought it was fireworks and then I saw how police started to fall on the tarmac and crouch down," Mr Anchipolovsky told The Associated Press.

Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said the president had been informed of the shooting that came shortly after the Russian leader's annual news conference.

At about the same time when the shooting happened, Mr Putin made a speech at a Kremlin concert for FSB and other Russian security personnel.

In a speech marking the date the Soviet secret police was founded, Mr Putin hailed its officers for their efforts in combating terrorism and organised crime.