Deadly terror attack shakes Russia after Putin’s triumph
Assailants armed with weapons stormed a Russian concert, killing at least 115 and injuring 145 people attending a rock show
The deadliest terror attack in more than a decade in Moscow shattered the illusion of security that Vladimir Putin has carefully cultivated in the more than two years since he invaded Ukraine.
A group of assailants armed with automatic weapons and explosives burst into a concert hall on the outskirts of the Russian capital on Friday evening, killing at least 115 and wounding at least 145 people who’d arrived for a show by the popular Piknik rock group. A huge fire broke out after an explosion, leading to a partial collapse of the roof of the sprawling Crocus City Hall. A manhunt was underway for the suspects, who escaped by car, the RIA state news agency reported.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack in a Telegram channel, according to the Associated Press, but that couldn’t be independently confirmed. Russia’s Federal Security Service said earlier this month it prevented an assault on a Moscow synagogue by what it called an Afghan branch of Islamic State, Interfax reported.
The bloody assault on the capital Friday was a throwback to an earlier period of Putin’s quarter-century reign, when suicide bombings, most blamed on Islamists from within Russia or its neighbours, killed scores. The death toll is the worst in the capital since twin suicide attacks in Moscow subway stations killed at least 40 in 2010. Islamist groups have targeted Russia citing what they call anti-Muslim policies by the Kremlin.
The Russian president, just days after cementing his grip on the country after his reelection to a fifth term with 87% of the vote, was monitoring developments closely Friday, the Kremlin said. Investigators called it a terrorist act. Authorities cancelled public events and tightened security in cities across the country.
On March 7, the US Embassy in Moscow had issued a public warning that “extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow, to include concerts.” But Putin earlier this week dismissed that as “obvious blackmail” and the US provided no more details publicly.
While the US did not say specifically that the warning was related to the attack, National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement on Friday night that “the US government had information about a planned terrorist attack in Moscow”.
“The US government also shared this information with Russian authorities in accordance with its longstanding ‘duty to warn’ policy,” she added.
President Joe Biden was being updated on the events on
Friday, according to the White House. There was no indication of Ukrainian involvement, Kirby said.
Some Russian state-media commentators suggested Kyiv may be to blame, but Ukraine denied any role, calling it a false-flag operation by the Kremlin.
“It’s more likely true terrorism since Russian civilians were targeted and killed,” said Thad Troy, a former Central Intelligence Agency Russia specialist who served in Moscow.
Earlier, Russia experienced major terrorist attacks, such as the Beslan school siege in 2004 (380+ fatalities), the Nord-Ost theatre hostage crisis in Moscow in 2002 (170 deaths), both by Chechen separatists, and the St Petersburg subway suicide bombing (16 dead).