Moscow — 

The concert venue in suburban Moscow, where armed individuals started shooting at attendees, was left in ruins on Saturday with over 130 deaths reported. Russian authorities have apprehended four suspects in connection with the attack.

According to President Vladimir Putin, they were apprehended while attempting to escape to Ukraine.

Kyiv has strongly refuted any association with Friday’s attack on the Crocus City Hall music venue in Krasnogorsk, while the Islamic State group has taken credit for it.

American intelligence officials possess information indicating that the attack in Moscow was carried out by the Afghan branch of the Islamic State group, known as IS-Khorasan.

During his speech to the nation, Putin did not address the Islamic State group. However, Kyiv claimed that he and other Russian politicians falsely linked Ukraine to the attack in order to incite support for the ongoing war in Ukraine, which has been going on for three years.

The National Security Council released a statement attributing complete blame to ISIS for the attack. They also stated that there was absolutely no involvement from Ukraine.

According to Watson, the United States provided Russia with information in early March regarding a potential terrorist attack in Moscow related to a threat from IS-Khorasan. As a precaution, a public warning was issued to Americans in Russia.

Russian President Putin states that 11 individuals have been arrested.

Putin stated that 11 individuals have been arrested in connection with the incident, which left over 100 people injured. He condemned it as a “violent and savage act of terrorism” and reported that four suspects were apprehended while attempting to flee to Ukraine through a specially arranged exit point on the Ukrainian side of the border.

The accusations made by Russian President Vladimir Putin and his team were met with strong rejection from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He expressed anger towards their attempt to shift the blame onto Ukraine and disregard their own citizens as dispensable.

On his messaging app channel, he stated, “Our cities are being set ablaze and Ukraine is being blamed. Our citizens are being subjected to torture and rape, yet they are the ones being accused. They have sent numerous terrorists to our country to engage in warfare on our land, with no regard for the state of their own nation.”

Russian media broadcast videos that apparently showed the detention and interrogation of the suspects, including one who told the cameras he was approached by an unidentified assistant to an Islamic preacher via a messaging app and paid to take part in the raid.

The individuals responsible for the attack were revealed to be from Tajikistan, a largely Muslim country in Central Asia that was once part of the Soviet Union and shares a border with Afghanistan. Approximately 1.5 million Tajik nationals have been employed in Russia and a significant number hold Russian citizenship.

The foreign ministry of Tajikistan denied the initial reports by Russian media that implicated multiple Tajik individuals in the raid. A request for comment regarding the arrests was not immediately answered.

Several conservative Russians demanded strict measures against Tajik workers, however Putin appeared to dismiss the notion by stating that no power could instill feelings of division, fear, or strife in our diverse nation.

The leader announced that Sunday would be observed as a day of grief and that extra security precautions had been implemented nationwide in Russia.

The death toll was at 133, making this attack the most deadly in Russia in many years. Officials stated that the number of casualties could potentially increase.

The attack was a significant source of humiliation for the leader of Russia and occurred only a few days after he solidified his control over the nation for an additional six years through a vote that came after the strictest suppression of opposition since the Soviet era.

Certain individuals on social media in Russia expressed doubt about how the government, which has consistently stifled all forms of dissent and controlled the media, did not prevent the attack even with prior warnings from the U.S.

After a warning, an attack could occur.

Two weeks after the U.S. Embassy in Moscow released a notice advising Americans to avoid crowded areas due to potential extremist activities targeting major events such as concerts, an attack occurred. Other Western embassies also shared the same warning. Recently, Putin criticized the notice as a means to intimidate Russians.

On Saturday, investigators searched through the burned remains of the hall in search of additional victims. Russia’s health ministry reported that hundreds of people in Moscow formed a queue to donate blood and plasma.

Pictures posted by Russian government media depicted emergency vehicles still present at the remains of the music venue, with a seating capacity of over 6,000 and numerous significant performances hosted there.

According to Dave Primov, who managed to survive the incident, the attackers were firing towards the front rows of the crowd. He recounted the chaos that ensued as people frantically tried to flee the concert venue, with some crashing into others and causing people to fall down and be trampled.

After escaping the hall with other individuals and entering adjacent utility rooms, he mentioned hearing pops from minor explosives and detecting a burning odor as the assailants ignited the building. When they finally exited the vast structure after 25 minutes, it was completely engulfed in flames.

Primov stated that if the timing had been slightly longer, they could have become trapped in the fire.

Messages expressing anger, surprise, and sympathy for the victims and their families flooded in from all over the globe.

Karine Jean-Pierre, press secretary for the White House, declared through a statement that the United States strongly denounces the attack and recognizes that the Islamic State group is a shared enemy that needs to be defeated globally.

Source: voanews.com