A few men in camouflage entered into a large concert hall in Moscow and opened fire, killing over 60 people, injuring about 145 and setting the venue on fire on Friday.
The attack is being referred to as the deadliest in years, according to a report in the Associated Press, which Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin called a “huge tragedy,” occurring just days after Russian President Vladimir Putin resumed power by securing a landslide victory in the elections.
Soon after the attack, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement over social media.
Here’s what we know about the Moscow attack so far:
🔴 A few men in camouflage entered into the Crocus City Hall in Moscow and opened fire at a crowd of people who had gathered to watch a performance by the Russian rock band Picnic.
🔴 The attack which left the concert hall in flames, killed over 60 people, and injured about 145, out of which 115 of them have been hospitalised, including five children, according to health authorities.
Members of the Investigative Committee of Russia work at the scene of the deadly shooting attack in Crocus City Hall, in Krasnogorsk, Moscow Region, Russia, in this screenshot taken from a handout video released March 23, 2024. (Photo: Reuters)
🔴 Terrorist group ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack, and in a statement posted by its Aamaq news agency, the Islamic State group said it attacked a large gathering of “Christians” in Krasnogorsk on Moscow’s outskirts, killing and wounding hundreds.
🔴 According to some Russian media outlets, the assailants fled before special forces and riot police arrived.
🔴 US intelligence officials confirmed the claim by the Islamic State group’s branch based in Afghanistan that it was responsible for the Moscow attack, a US official told the AP. According to the official, the US intelligence agencies had gathered information in the past weeks that the IS branch was planning an attack in Moscow, which was shared with the Russian officials earlier this month. However, the officials were not authorized to publicly discuss the information.
🔴 Security was tightened at Moscow’s airports, railway stations and the capital’s sprawling subway system, according to Russian officials. Moscow’s mayor too canceled all mass gatherings, whereas theatres and museums were shut for the weekend. Other Russian regions also tightened security.
Russian Rosguardia (National Guard) servicemen help a man to leave an area near the Crocus City Hall on the western edge of Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 22, 2024. (Photo: AP/PTI)
🔴 According to the Associated Press, on March 7, Russia’s top security agency said it thwarted an attack on a synagogue in Moscow by an Islamic State cell, killing several of its members in the Kaluga region near the Russian capital. A few days earlier, Russian authorities said six alleged IS members were killed in a shootout in Ingushetia in Russia’s volatile Caucasus region.
🔴 Some Russian lawmakers were quick to accuse Ukraine for the attack, calling for ramping up strikes. However, according to AP, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, denied Ukraine’s involvement. “Ukraine has never resorted to the use of terrorist methods,” he posted on X. “Everything in this war will be decided only on the battlefield.”
Medics transport a body of a victim a waiting ambulance near the burning building of the Crocus City Hall on the western edge of Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 22, 2024. (Photo: AP/PTI)
🔴 President Putin expressed his gratitude towards the doctors at work, following the attack, and wished recover to those injured. “Putin wished all those injured in the emergency at Crocus City Hall to recover and conveyed his gratitude to the doctors, Golikova said,” state media TASS reported, referring to Tatiana Golikova deputy prime minister for social policy, labor, health and pension provision.
🔴 Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the “heinous terrorist attack” and said that “India stands in solidarity with the government”. “We strongly condemn the heinous terrorist attack in Moscow. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims. India stands in solidarity with the government and the people of the Russian Federation in this hour of grief,” the Prime Minister wrote on X.
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