- The ISIS-K (ISIL) group has claimed responsibility for a brazen Terrorist attack on Moscow’s Crocus City Hall that killed at least 115 people and injured more than 187.
- The prosecutor’s office said several men in combat fatigues had entered the concert hall, about 20km (12 miles) from the Kremlin and next to the Moscow ring road, and fired on those inside.
- Russian authorities have arrested 11 people in connection with the attack, including four directly involved, according to Russia’s Federal Security Service.
- The United Nations Security Council “condemned in the strongest terms the heinous and cowardly terrorist attack” in Krasnogorsk.
Putin speaks to Belarusian president on counter-terrorism cooperation
During a phone conversation, Putin and Aleksandr Lukashenko affirmed their readiness to jointly combat “terrorism”, Russia’s TASS state news agency quoted the Kremlin as saying.
Earlier, the foreign ministry of Belarus condemned the “heinous terrorist act” in Moscow, adding that Belarus stands “together with the brotherly Russian people in these difficult moments”.
ISIS has claimed responsibility for an attack at a popular concert hall complex near Moscow Friday after assailants stormed the venue with guns and incendiary devices, killing at least 115 people and injuring 187.
The terror group took responsibility for the attack in a short statement published by ISIS-affiliated news agency Amaq on Telegram on Friday. It did not provide evidence to support the claim.
US had warned of potential Terrorist Attack in Moscow
Earlier this month, the US embassy in Russia said it was “monitoring reports that extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow,” including concerts. The embassy warned US citizens to avoid large gatherings. On Friday, following reports of the Crocus City Hall attack, it advised US citizens not to travel to Russia.
Starting in November, there has been a steady stream of intelligence that ISIS-K was determined to attack in Russia, according to two sources familiar with the information.
ISIS-K stands for ISIS-Khorasan, the terror organization’s affiliate that is active in Afghanistan and the surrounding region.
US National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said the US government had had information about a planned terrorist attack in Moscow – potentially targeting large gatherings, to include concerts – and that this is what prompted the State Department to issue the public advisory.
“The US government also shared this information with Russian authorities in accordance with its longstanding ‘duty to warn’ policy,” Watson said.
In a speech Tuesday, Putin had blasted the American warnings as “provocative,” saying “these actions resemble outright blackmail and the intention to intimidate and destabilize our society.”
In March alone, Russian authorities had thwarted several ISIS-related incidents, according to RIA. On March 3, RIA reported that six ISIS members were killed in a counter-terrorist operation in the Ingush Karabulak; on March 7, it said security services had uncovered and “neutralized” a cell of the banned organization Vilayat Khorasan in the Kaluga region, whose members were planning an attack on a synagogue in Moscow; and on March 20, it said the commander of an ISIS combat group had been detained.
A US official said Friday that Washington had no reason to doubt ISIS’ claim that it was responsible for the latest attack.
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Source: Al-Jazeera & CNN
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