Toll from Moscow atrocity hits 143
MOSCOW: The death toll from the attack on a Moscow concert hall claimed by Islamic extremists has climbed to 143, Russian authorities said.
Officials listed the names of the dead on the website for the Russian ministry for civil defence and emergency situations five days after last Friday’s attack, the deadliest claimed to date by Islamic State on European soil and the worst in Russia in two decades.
By Wednesday afternoon, 80 people injured in the attack, including six children, remained in hospital,
TASS news agency quoted Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko as saying.
An anonymous medical source told TASS 205 people had received outpatient care.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova told reporters many people in shock had initially not returned to the hospital for treatment.
Gunmen opened fire at spectators in the 6000-seat Crocus City concert hall near Moscow during a performance by rock band Piknik last Friday and then set fire to the venue.
Four suspects from Tajikistan – Muhammadsobir Fayzov, Shamsidin Fariduni, Rachabalizoda Saidakrami and Dalerjon Mirzoyev – have appeared in court charged with terrorism. Mirzoyev and Rachabalizoda have pleaded guilty.
A Moscow court has ordered the men be held in pre-trial detention until May 22, a date that’s likely to be extended until a full trial.
The attack was swiftly claimed by Islamic State although the Kremlin has repeated its initial attempt to link it to Ukraine.
An outraged Kyiv categorically rejects any involvement.
Russia has for some years been a target of Islamic State owing to its role in suppressing unrest in regions with a substantial Muslim majority, as well as its support for the regime in Syria’s civil war.
President Vladimir Putin has admitted the gunmen were radical Islamists but continued to insist on a link to Ukraine.