According to Putin, the gunmen involved in the Moscow attack attempted to escape to Ukraine.
MOSCOW —
On Saturday, the music hall in suburban Moscow, where shooters fired at attendees, was reduced to ashes and smoke. The number of fatalities in the assault has now exceeded 130, and four suspects have been detained by Russian officials. President Vladimir Putin stated that they were apprehended while attempting to escape to Ukraine.
The government of Kyiv firmly rejected any responsibility for the attack that took place on Friday at the Crocus City Hall music venue in Krasnogorsk. The Afghanistan branch of the Islamic State group claimed credit for the assault.
Putin did not address IS in his address to the country, while Kyiv accused him and other Russian leaders of wrongly connecting Ukraine to the attack in order to incite support for Russia’s ongoing conflict in Ukraine, which has now been ongoing for three years.
American intelligence authorities officially verified the assertion made by the Islamic State branch.
Adrienne Watson, spokesperson for the National Security Council, stated that ISIS is solely responsible for this attack. She also clarified that there was no involvement from Ukraine.
In March, the United States provided Russia with information about a potential terrorist attack in Moscow and also released a public alert to Americans in Russia, as reported by Watson.
On March 23, 2024, firefighters were seen in a video released by the Investigative Committee of Russia, working in a burned concert hall following an attack on the Crocus City Hall building located on the western outskirts of Moscow.
According to Putin, the attack resulted in the detention of 11 individuals and more than 100 injuries. He described it as a “brutal and savage act of terrorism” and stated that the four perpetrators were apprehended while attempting to cross into Ukraine through a pre-arranged “exit” on the Ukrainian side of the border.
Russian news outlets aired footage that purportedly depicted the arrest and questioning of individuals involved in the incident. One of the suspects on camera claimed to have been recruited by an unknown associate of an Islamic leader through a messaging platform and offered compensation for participation in the operation.
According to news sources in Russia, the individuals responsible for the shooting were identified as Tajikistan nationals. Tajikistan is a primarily Muslim country in Central Asia that was once a part of the Soviet Union, and shares a border with Afghanistan. It is estimated that 1.5 million Tajiks have migrated to Russia for work, and a significant number hold Russian citizenship.
The foreign ministry of Tajikistan has refuted initial reports from Russian media which implicated other Tajik individuals in the attack. They have not yet responded to a request for comment regarding the arrests.
Numerous individuals in Russia who hold strong beliefs expressed a desire to take strict action against Tajik migrants. However, Putin seemed to dismiss this notion by stating that no one can successfully sow the harmful thoughts of disagreement, fear, or division in our diverse society.
He declared Sunday a day of mourning and said additional security measures were imposed throughout Russia.
133 people lost their lives in the attack, making it the deadliest incident in Russia in recent years. Officials have stated that the death toll may increase.
The attack was a significant source of humiliation for the leader of Russia and took place shortly after he solidified his control over the country for another six years through a vote that came after the most severe suppression of opposition since the era of the Soviet Union.
On March 23, 2024, individuals are seen leaving flowers next to the fence by Crocus City Hall, located on the western side of Moscow.
Several people on Russian social media raised concerns about how the government, known for silencing dissent and controlling the media, were unable to stop the attack despite being warned by the United States.
Two weeks following the issuance of a notice by the U.S. Embassy in Moscow advising Americans to avoid crowded areas due to potential targeting by extremists, an assault occurred. The notice had specifically mentioned the possibility of large Moscow gatherings, such as concerts, being targeted. Other Western embassies also shared the warning. Recently, Putin spoke out against the warning, denouncing it as an effort to intimidate Russians.
On Saturday, investigators searched through the burnt remains of the hall in search of additional victims. According to Russia’s health ministry, hundreds of people in Moscow waited in line to donate blood and plasma.
After the attack, Russian lawmakers accused Ukraine and Putin claimed that the attackers attempted to escape to Ukraine.
Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy vehemently refuted Moscow’s claims, labeling them as an effort by Putin and his associates to deflect responsibility onto Ukraine while disregarding the well-being of their own citizens.
In a statement on his messaging app channel, he accused them of setting our cities on fire and falsely blaming Ukraine. He also accused them of inflicting torture and sexual assault upon our people and yet shifting the blame onto them. He stated that they have sent a large number of terrorists to our home ground in Ukraine, showing no concern for the turmoil within their own nation.
Russian state media released photos showing emergency vehicles still present outside the destroyed concert hall. The venue had a capacity of over 6,000 people and was known for hosting major events, such as the 2013 Miss Universe pageant with Donald Trump as a guest.
The Russian rock band Picnic drew a large crowd to their concert at the venue on Friday.
Videos posted online showed gunmen in the venue shooting civilians at point-blank range. Russian news reports cited authorities and witnesses as saying the attackers threw explosive devices that started the fire, which eventually consumed the building and caused its roof to collapse.
According to Dave Primov, a survivor of the attack, the gunmen were firing at the people in the front rows of the crowd. He recounted the chaotic scene as concert attendees frantically tried to flee. Primov stated, “People were in a state of panic, running and bumping into one another. Some fell to the ground and were trampled by others.”
He and the others escaped the hall and sought refuge in neighboring utility rooms. He stated that he could hear small explosions and detect the scent of burning as the assailants set the building on fire. When they finally exited the extensive structure after 25 minutes, it was already fully engulfed in flames.
“If only it had lasted a bit longer, we would have been trapped in the fire,” stated Primov.
Revised: Messages expressing anger, disbelief, and solidarity for the victims and their families flooded in from all corners of the globe.
The White House’s spokesperson, Karine Jean-Pierre, stated that the U.S. denounced the assault and acknowledged that the Islamic State group is a shared terrorist adversary that must be vanquished worldwide.
After Russia’s military intervention in Syria, IS suffered significant losses and has been seeking revenge against Russia. According to a message released by IS’s Aamaq news agency, their Afghanistan branch claimed responsibility for an attack on a large gathering of “Christians” in Krasnogorsk.
On Saturday, Aamaq released a fresh declaration stating that the assault was orchestrated by four individuals who utilized automatic guns, a handgun, blades, and incendiary devices. The update claimed that the attackers shot at the audience and knifed certain attendees, framing the incursion as another battle in IS’s ongoing conflict against countries that it believes are against Islam.
On March 22, 2024, a large fire was observed at the western side of Moscow’s Crocus City Hall.
In October of 2015, an explosion caused by IS brought down a Russian commercial flight over Sinai, resulting in the deaths of 224 individuals on the plane, the majority of whom were Russian tourists heading back from a holiday in Egypt.
The organization primarily operates in Syria and Iraq, but also has a presence in Afghanistan and Africa. It has taken responsibility for various attacks in Russia’s unstable Caucasus region and other areas over the last few years. It has enlisted combatants from Russia and other countries previously a part of the Soviet Union.
The Afghanistan subsidiary of the group is referred to as either ISIS-K or IS-K, deriving its name from the historic area of Khorasan Province which encompassed parts of Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia during the medieval period.
The partner organization has numerous combatants who have consistently conducted assaults in Afghanistan ever since the Taliban took over the country in 2021. The group and the fighters have a deeply strained relationship.
The terrorist group known as ISIS-K orchestrated a suicide bombing at Kabul airport in August 2021, resulting in the death of 13 American soldiers and approximately 170 Afghan civilians amidst the tumultuous U.S. evacuation. They also admitted to carrying out a bombing in Kerman, Iran, in January that resulted in the death of 95 individuals at a commemoration ceremony.
On March 7, shortly before the U.S. Embassy issued a warning about imminent attacks, Russia’s primary security agency reported that it had prevented an attack on a synagogue in Moscow by a cell belonging to IS. The agency also confirmed the deaths of several IS members in a separate incident in the Kaluga region near the capital. Just days earlier, Russian officials stated that six suspected IS members had died in a gunfight in Ingushetia, located in the Caucasus region of Russia.
Source: voanews.com
