(AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed on Saturday to punish those behind a “barbaric terrorist attack” on a Moscow concert hall that killed at least 133 people and forced Russia to flee to Ukraine. He said four armed men had been arrested.
Kiev strongly denies any connection, and President Putin did not mention Islamic State’s claim of responsibility in his first public appearance about the attack.
On Friday night, a group of disguised gunmen attacked and set fire to the Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk, a suburb north of Moscow, killing at least 133 people.
The jihadist group claimed the attack, saying on its Telegram channel on Saturday that it was part of a “fierce war with countries fighting Islam” and “four people armed with machine guns, pistols, knives and incendiary devices. It was carried out by IS fighters.” ”.
It was the deadliest attack on Russia in nearly 20 years and the deadliest attack in Europe claimed by Islamic State.
Russian authorities expect the death toll to rise further, with more than 100 people injured and hospitalized.
“Terrorists, murderers and inhumans have only one unenviable fate: retribution and oblivion,” Putin said in a televised address to the nation on Saturday.
Russia announces 115 dead, 11 arrested in Moscow concert hall attackhttps://t.co/csIVHzQgPt
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) March 23, 2024
He called the attack a “barbaric act of terrorism” and said “all four direct perpetrators…all those who shot and killed people have been found and taken into custody.”
“They were trying to escape and were heading towards Ukraine, but preliminary data shows that there was a window on the Ukrainian side to cross the state border,” he added.
Putin also likened the attackers to “Nazis” and called the attack “an atrocity, an attack on Russia and our people.”
He named Sunday a national day of mourning.
FSB security officials announced on Saturday that Russia had arrested 11 people in connection with the attack.
“All perpetrators, organizers and those who ordered this crime will be justly and inevitably punished,” Putin said.
The FSB said early Saturday that the attackers had “contacts” in Ukraine, but did not provide further details.
Presidential aide Mykhailo Podoljak said in a statement that Kiev has faced Russian military attacks for the past two years, but the latest attack had “nothing to do with it.”
A woman lights a candle in memory of the victims of the Moscow terrorist attacks during a memorial event in Vladivostok, Russia, March 23, 2024. The death toll in Friday’s terror attack rose to 93 after gunmen stormed a concert hall in Moscow, a police investigative committee announced. Russia announced on Saturday. (Photo credit: Guo Feizhou/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Russia’s Investigative Committee, which investigates serious crimes, said rescue workers continued to work at the scene Saturday and pulled bodies from the burnt-out building.
“Emergency services discovered more bodies while clearing the rubble,” the statement said on Telegram.
“The number of people killed in the terrorist attack has risen to 133. Search operations continue.”
The governor of the Moscow region said rescue teams would continue searching the scene for “several days”.
According to Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations, around 107 people remain hospitalized, many in critical condition.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack on Friday, saying its fighters attacked a “large gathering” on the outskirts of Moscow and “retired safely to their base.”
According to footage shared on social media, some witnesses filmed the attackers from an upper floor as they walked through the stalls and shot people.
“The terrorists then used flammable liquids to set fire to the grounds of the concert hall, where there were spectators, including the injured,” the investigative committee said.
Investigators said the 6,000-seat venue was engulfed in fire, killing people from both gunshot wounds and smoke inhalation.
On Friday, flames quickly spread through the venue, sending screaming concertgoers rushing to the emergency exits.
In his first public remarks on Saturday, more than 18 hours after the attack began, President Putin did not mention Islamic State’s claim of responsibility.
On Saturday, Margarita Simonyan, head of state media RT, posted two videos purporting to be interrogations of two handcuffed suspects, both of whom admitted to the attack, but who had organized the attack. has not been made clear.
Russian Telegram channels and lawmakers, including Baza, which is close to the security services, said some of the suspects were from Tajikistan, a post-Soviet Central Asian country.
https://twitter.com/RT_com/status/1771488144992481572
Tajikistan’s Foreign Ministry told Russia’s TASS news agency that its authorities were “in close contact” with the Russian government regarding “suspected participation of its citizens in terrorist attacks.”
In Moscow, residents stood in long lines in the rain to donate blood for hospital patients, according to videos posted by state media.
Some advertising billboards have been replaced with commemorative posters depicting a single candle, the RIA Novosti state office reported.
Major events have been canceled across the country, including a friendly soccer match between Russia and Paraguay scheduled to be held in Moscow on Monday.
A series of statements of condemnation came from world leaders.
The attack also attracted the attention of Russia’s powerful intelligence services.
Just three days earlier, President Putin had publicly dismissed Western warnings about an impending attack on Moscow as propaganda aimed at scaring the Russian people.
On March 7, the U.S. Embassy in Russia issued an alert saying it was “monitoring reports that extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow, including concerts.” did.
The US government said on Friday that it had directly warned Russian authorities of a possible “planned terrorist attack” targeting a “large gathering” in Moscow.
But last Tuesday, in a meeting with FSB chiefs, President Putin said, “The recent provocative statements by many Western government agencies about possible terrorist attacks in Russia are blatant threats and are a threat to our “It resembles an intention to intimidate and destabilize society.”
