At least 115 people died and more than 120 were wounded when gunmen from the Islamic State opened fire on people inside a Moscow suburban concert hall on Friday. The gunmen also set fire to the theatre.
Between two and five armed attackers dressed in “tactical uniforms” and carrying automatic weapons entered the concert hall where artist group Piknik were scheduled to hold a concert, according to news agency Interfax.
A journalist working for Ria Novosti said that the attackers opened fire and threw a “grenade” or “incendiary bomb”, which set off the fire.
A statement released by the Islamic State group claimed responsibility but Russia did not immediately blame anyone. Former president Dmitry Medvedev did say, however, that Ukrainian leaders found to be involved would be “destroyed”.
The Crocus City concert hall in Moscow’s northern Krasnogorsk suburb is a blazing wreck after the attack and evacuation process is on. Authorities told Russian news outlets that fire services helped about 100 people escape through the basement of the concert hall.
The Piknik rock band were evacuated successfully. Rescue operations were also launched for people trapped on the roof.
The gunmen sped away in a van and are not yet apprehended.
Putin Yet To Issue Public Statement
President Vladimir Putin wished a speedy recovery to the wounded victims of the deadly attack on a Moscow concert hall, Russia’s deputy prime minister Tatyana Golikova said on Saturday after meeting with him.
“The president wished everyone a speedy recovery and conveyed his gratitude to the doctors,” Golikova was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies. Putin has yet to comment publicly on the attack.
He spoke to the heads of the law enforcement and emergency services following the deadly attack and received reports from the head of the security services (FSB), the Investigative Committee, the National Guard, and the ministers of interior, health and emergency situations, the Kremlin told Russian news outlets.
The United States condemned the “horrible” events, but said there was no sign of Ukrainian involvement.
Ukraine intelligence blamed “Russian special services”, saying the attack would be used to step up the war. The Ukrainian foreign ministry said accusations against the country were “a planned provocation by the Kremlin to further fuel anti-Ukrainian hysteria in Russian society”.
The UN, US, EU and other western countries who are backing Ukraine since the start of the 2022 conflict have condemned the attack.
A report by the BBC pointed out that the statement from the Islamic State (IS) saying they were behind the attack came out on an official account run by the group. The report also pointed out that the IS has earlier made false claims but an US intelligence official told CBS that they have intel confirming that IS was behind the attacks.
The BBC report also drew parallels between the Moscow concert hall attack and the 2015 Bataclan concert hall attack in Paris as the nature of the attack was almost the same – gunmen entering a packed civilian area and shooting as many civilians as possible.
The US said it warned Russian authorities earlier in March about a terrorist attack possibly targeting “large gatherings” in Moscow, the White House said on Friday (local time) hours after the mass shooting.
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