At least 133 are dead and more injured after an attack on a Moscow concert hall
The biggest attack to strike a concert hall in Moscow in years occurred on Friday. Days after President Vladimir Putin took office for the sixth time, gunmen invaded the facility, killing over 100 people.
What happened during the attack?
Just after 20:00 (17:00 GMT) on Friday night, gunmen broke into the foyer of Crocus City Hall, a musical venue for the rock group Picnic, which was scheduled to take place on the outskirts of Moscow, 20km (12 miles) from the Kremlin.
At least four people in camouflage outfits were visible on camera firing erratically before entering the performance venue and beginning to fire.
When a woman inside the theater realized shots were firing, she and other guests hurried towards the stage.
“I saw a person in the stalls with a sidearm, and there were cracks [of gunfire] going off. I was trying to crawl behind a loudspeaker,” she stated on Russian television.
There is a glimpse of flames within the hallway at one point. Later, glass on the top two stories of the seven-story building burst out, and flames consumed the facade.
According to Russia’s Investigative Committee, “the terrorists used a flammable liquid to set fire to the concert hall’s premises, where spectators were located, including wounded.”
Although 160 tons of water were dropped by helicopters, it took roughly ten hours to put out the fire. Hundreds had been slain and injured by the time the suspects managed to flee; by some estimates, the attack lasted for roughly twenty minutes.
Some people died from smoke inhalation, while many others died from bullet wounds. The members of Picnic’s band escaped uninjured.
Who are the sufferers?
For the event, almost 6,000 Russians had gone to the shopping and entertainment complex. There has been a steady increase in the death toll. It was Saturday afternoon, and at least 133 people were officially dead. According to the initial official list of deaths, the oldest victim appeared to be in her 70s and had three children. Authorities have cautioned that additional people could perish in addition to the dead and that at least 60 people are still in critical condition.
On the northwest edge of Moscow, Krasnogorsk, Khimki, and other neighboring towns accounted for many the dead and injured.
Who are the aggressors?
A manhunt was launched after it seemed that the attackers were able to flee the chaos and fire they had left behind.
The attackers, according to Russian MP Alexander Khinshtein, drove off in a white Renault. He claimed that when police attempted to pull over the car in the Bryansk area, some 340 kilometers (210 miles) from Moscow, they were able to apprehend two people while the other two ran away.
Four of the 11 people detained were “directly involved,” according to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), which made the announcement some 14 hours after the initial gunfire reports.
Their identities are still unknown. Unconfirmed reports have referenced Tajikistani nationals, and Mr. Khinshtein reported discovering passports from the nation in the vehicle.
Who launched the assault?
The Islamic State organization (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack in a succinct statement on Friday. It published a picture on Saturday purporting to show the four attackers, all of whom were wearing masks.
Russian officials have not addressed the assertion, which comes two weeks after the US issued a warning about a possible strike targeting “large gatherings” in Moscow. Russian officials have expressed dissatisfaction with US intelligence’s lack of specificity.
And only last week, Putin said: “Recent provocative statements by a number of official Western structures about the possibility of terrorist attacks in Russia… resemble outright blackmail and an intention to intimidate and destabilize our society.”
Did Russia disregard the warning of US “extremist” attacks?
The US has targeted ISIS-Khorasan, also known as ISIS-K, a branch of IS that aims to impose a Muslim caliphate over Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
According to Colin Clarke, a counterterrorism specialist based in New York, “ISIS-K has been fixated on Russia for the past two years,” as reported by the New York Times.
“ISIS-K accuses the Kremlin of having Muslim blood in its hands, referencing Moscow’s interventions in Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Syria,” added Clarke.
Putin claimed that despite the Russian government’s lack of response to the IS allegation, they apprehended the attackers as they attempted to flee to Ukraine.
Putin said, “Based on preliminary information, the Ukrainian side prepared a window for crossing the border for them.” The Russian assertions have been quickly rejected by Ukraine as “absolutely untenable and absurd.”.
In February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine on a large scale.
