Moscow concert death toll rises to 139: Russian official

The death toll from the terrorist attack at a Moscow concert hall rose to 139 on Monday, Russian officials announced.

The death toll has risen rapidly since Friday’s attack, when gunmen opened fire on a crowd at a concert hall on the outskirts of Moscow and set fire to the building.

The head of the country’s Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, said on state television on Monday that the attack was “carefully planned and prepared.” This was reported by the state-run Mediatas news agency..

Bastrykin said 139 people were killed in the attack, 137 of whom were at the scene, and 75 of the 139 had been identified, including three children. He added that 40 people were shot, two people were shot and stabbed, and 45 people were killed in a fire at the venue. He said 182 people were injured.

On Sunday, four men were charged with the terrorist attack. Two of the suspects admitted to the crime, but concerns were raised about whether they were speaking freely, according to the Associated Press.

Three more men were arrested on Monday. According to state media, was charged with assisting the attackers. Police said weapons and tools, including an assault rifle, were recovered from an apartment used by the group. TASS reported.

US intelligence said ISIS-K was responsible for the attack, but Russian President Vladimir Putin has sought to link the attack to Ukraine.

President Putin said on Monday that those responsible were “radical Islamists”, “an ideology against which the world has been fighting for centuries”. According to the translation From the Associated Press.

Referring to his country’s invasion of Ukraine, Putin added: “This crime is just part of a series of attempts by those who have been at war with our country since 2014.”

The United States and other international leaders reject Putin’s insinuations of involvement in Ukraine.