A day after US warning, taxi runs through crowd in World Cup-hosting Moscow; 7 injured

A day after the US State Department issued a travel advisory warning American of potential terror attacks in Russia during the ongoing World Cup, a taxi ploughed into a crowd near Moscow's Red Square on Saturday, June 16, injuring seven people, Russian officials and eyewitnesses confirmed, according to Reuters.

The injured also included Mexicans, said the report.

Moscow's traffic authorities said the driver of the vehicle possessed a license issued in the Central Asian Republic of Kyrgyzstan though he later told the police that he had not driven the car into the crowd purposely, the report added. The driver was taken in police custody.

The crowd which was at the receiving end included residents and football fans making merry at the centre of the Russian capital amid the soccer fever over the 21st edition of the quadrennial tournament.

Reuters cited a source who was present on the scene as saying that some of the people who were hit by the taxi were wearing team colours of Mexico. The North American nation was set to take on defending champions Germany at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium on Sunday, June 17, in their opening game of this year's tournament.

Another witness told Reuters that the driver wasn't drunk. He tried to escape the scene after the incident but was caught, the report cited the witness as saying.

Russia's Interface news agency, however, said that the driver of the taxi was drunk when the incident took place. It also cited a medical source as saying that the injuries of the victims were not critical.

Russia has vowed to ensure complete safety for the first-ever world cup it is hosting till July 15. However, the rise of lone-wolf attacks through vehicles, firing or stabbing in various European cities in the recent times has caused serious concerns for the authorities.