- The ISIL (ISIS) group has claimed responsibility for a brazen attack on Moscow’s Crocus City Hall that killed at least 60 people and injured more than 145.
- 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.
- The United Nations Security Council “condemned in the strongest terms the heinous and cowardly terrorist attack” in Krasnogorsk.
- Moscow concert attackers escaped in white Renault car: ReportThe gunmen who carried out the attack on Moscow’s Crocus City Hall fled the scene in a white Renault car, reports Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency, which published a photo of the vehicle.The Russian Investigative Committee said it is working with investigators, criminologists, and specialised units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Federal Security Service (FSB) to conduct on-the-scene investigations. It said they had confiscated weapons and ammunition from the scene and were studying security camera footage.Click here to share on social media
- US had intel on possible Russia ‘terror attack’, warned MoscowThe US White House says it had received intel about a “planned terrorist attack” in Moscow earlier this month – “potentially targeting large gatherings, to include concerts” – and passed on the information to Moscow.It did so as part of its “duty to warn” policy, in which the US alerts nations or groups when it receives intelligence of specific threats to kidnap or kill multiple victims, said National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson.US officials told AFP news agency they believe ISIL’s claim to have carried out the attack on Moscow’s Crocus City Hall is credible.Click here to share on social media
- Photos: Scenes from attack on Moscow’s Crocus City Hall concert
[Yulia Morozova/Reuters]
[Olga Maltseva/AFP]
[Sergei Vedyashkin/Moscow News Agency/Handout via Reuters]Click here to share on social media - World reactions to Moscow shootingThe UN and countries around the world are reacting to Friday night’s attack on a Moscow concert. Here are some of the latest statements:
- UN Security Council: “The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the heinous and cowardly terrorist attack at a concert hall in Krasnogorsk, Moscow Region, the Russian Federation, on 22 March 2024.”US White House spokesman John Kirby: “The images are just horrible and just hard to watch, and our thoughts obviously are going to be with the victims of this terrible, terrible shooting attack.”Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak: “Let’s be straight about this: Ukraine had absolutely nothing to do with these events. We have a full-scale, all-out war with the Russian regular army … And regardless of everything, everything will be decided on the battlefield.”
- Three children killedAt least three children are among the 60 people that have been confirmed killed from the attack, according to Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency, citing the Health Ministry.Earlier, Russia’s health minister said five children and 110 adults had been hospitalised from the attack.Click here to share on social media
- Why did ISIL attack a Moscow theatre?ISIL (ISIS) has claimed responsibility for the attack on Moscow’s Crocus City Hall that killed at least 60 people and wounded 145.Here is information about ISIL’s Afghan branch, known as ISKP or ISIS-K, and its motives for attacking Russia:
- Islamic State in Khorasan Province, ISKP (ISIS-K) emerged in eastern Afghanistan in late 2014 and quickly established a reputation for extreme brutality.
- The group has a history of attacks inside and outside Afghanistan, claiming assaults on Kabul’s international airport in 2021, a suicide bombing at the Russian embassy in Kabul in September 2022, and twin bombings in Iran earlier this year that killed nearly 100.
- The US’s top general in the Middle East warned earlier this year that ISIS-K had the capacity to attack US and Western interests outside of Afghanistan “with little to no warning”.
- While the attack by ISIS-K in Russia on Friday was a dramatic escalation, the group has opposed Russian President Putin and come to view Russia as “complicit in activities that regularly oppress Muslims”, said Michael Kugelman of the Washington-based Wilson Center.
- Within the group’s ranks are numerous Central Asian fighters with their own grievances against Moscow, said Kugelman.
Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/23/isil-says-it-was-behind-moscow-concert-hall-attack-that-killed-at-least-60
