Russia arrests concert hall gunmen as death toll rises
Putin vows retribution for ‘barbaric’ Moscow attack
Russia yesterday said it had arrested 11 people – including four gunmen – over the attack on a Moscow concert hall claimed by the Islamic State, as the death toll has risen to at least 133.
Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday called the attack a “barbaric terrorist act” and vowed harsh retribution to all those involved.
In a televised address, Putin said all four gunmen had been arrested before they had a chance to cross the border into Ukraine.
“I am speaking to you today in connection with the bloody, barbaric terrorist act, the victims of which were dozens of innocent, peaceful people,” Putin said in his first public remarks since the attack.
“All four perpetrators of the terrorist attack who shot and killed people have been detained. They were travelling towards Ukraine where, according to preliminary information, they had a window to cross the border,” the Kremlin leader said.
Russia’s FSB security service said earlier the assailants had been “in contact” with people in Ukraine as they tried to flee the country.
Camouflaged gunmen opened fire at the packed Crocus City Hall in Moscow’s northern suburb of Krasnogorsk on Friday
AfghAn IS brAnch top SuSpect In MoScow AttAck
The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for Friday’s attack on a Moscow concert hall that killed more than 100 people – terrorism experts say its Afghan branch is likely responsible.
Since the fundamentalist Taliban took over Kabul, the ISKP – the Afghan branch of IS – has managed to poach members from its rival movement and has repeatedly shown off its will and capability to strike outside Afghanistan’s borders.
An August 2021 blast claimed by the group killed 100 civilians and 13 American soldiers at Kabul airport – just as the US was withdrawing from the Afghan capital and the Taliban laid their hands on power.
It was the deadliest-ever attack by IS against the US. Washington offered a $10 million reward for information on ISKP’s leader Sanaullah Ghafari, also known as Shahab al-Muhajir.
Born in 1994, he is “responsible for approving all ISIS-K operations throughout Afghanistan and arranging funding to conduct operations,” according to the US State Department, which uses an alternative acronym for the ISKP.
The US State Department placed Ghafari on its foreign terrorist blacklist in November 2021.
Afghanistan’s IS branch was built by the group’s envoys arriving from Iraq and Syria – unlike almost everywhere else in the world, where pre-existing outfits pledged to its cause, said Hans-Jakob Schindler, director of the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) research outfit and a former UN terrorism expert.
“They have very close connections to the centre, much more than the other affiliates,” Schindler told AFP, adding that this gives them access to ample funding.
Lucas Webber, co-founder of specialist website Militant Wire, highlighted that the “ISKP has emerged as the most internationally minded IS branch... producing propaganda in more languages than any other branch since the height of the caliphate in Iraq and Syria.” evening ahead of a concert by Soviet-era rock band Piknik in the deadliest attack in Russia for at least a decade.
Russia’s FSB security service said some of the perpetrators had fled towards the RussiaUkraine border, adding that the assailants had “appropriate contacts” in the country. It did not provide further details.
Some Russian lawmakers also pointed to Kyiv, without providing evidence.
“The main interested party could most likely be Ukraine and its patrons ... we can’t rule it out,” said senior Russian MP Andrey Kartapolov.
Ukraine, which has been facing a Russian military offensive for the past two years, had “nothing to do” with the attack, according to a statement by presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak on Telegram.
“FSB director Alexander Bortnikov reported to the president on the detention of 11 people, including four terrorists involved in the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall,” it said.
The Kremlin said Putin was being kept constantly informed and a government official said he had wished a speedy recovery to the victims.
Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said rescue workers were still working on site, pulling bodies from the building.