Moscow terror attack: Death toll rises to 115, 11 detained
Assailants stormed Crocus City concert hall late on Friday, opened fire and set the venue on fire
The terrorist attack took lives of three children, Russian Investigative Committee said in a statement, noting that the figure was likely to increase
Death toll from shooting at the Crocus City concert hall in Moscow region rose to 115 as more bodies were pulled from under the debris, the Russian Investigative Committee said on Saturday.
Assailants stormed the hall late on Friday, opened fire, killing at least 115 people, injuring more than 145 others and setting fire to the venue. Parts of the building collapsed, complicating the search and rescue operation.
The terrorist attack took lives of three children, the investigative body said in a statement, noting that the figure was likely to increase.
The committee identified gunshot wounds and poisoning from combustion products as the most common causes of death.
The data on the number of injuries, meanwhile, differed. The Moscow region Health Ministry published a list of 147 people who were admitted to medical care after the incident, while Russian
Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said 115 people were injured, including five children. The Emergency Ministry published a list of 99 injured.
Murashko emphasised that 60 people are in a critical condition, and doctors are fighting for their lives. Hundreds of people came to medical centres to donate their blood to injured people, with the Health Ministry saying blood will be needed in coming weeks to treat burns.
11 people arrested
The Investigative Committee said it detained 11 people, including four perpetrators, in the border region of Bryansk who were heading to Ukraine.
Separately, the Federal Security Force (FSB) said it learned that a handler was waiting for the group on the Ukrainian side of the border to facilitate the passage and provide cover.
“Trying to escape, the terrorists were heading towards the
Russian-ukrainian border, planned to cross out and had contacts on the Ukrainian side,” it said in a statement.
The FSB said the group offered resistance, but was ultimately held and was being transported to Moscow for further investigation. According to authorities a main highway leading to Ukraine was closed, and other important roads were being thoroughly monitored.
The FSB is working on identifying the accomplice base of the perpetrators of the terrorist attack, said agency head Aleksandr Bortnikov.
Attack condemned
Chinese President Xi Jinping condemned on Saturday the attack in the Moscow region of Russia. In a condolence message to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Xi said China opposes all forms of terrorism, strongly condemns terrorist attacks, and firmly supports the efforts of the Russian government to maintain national security and stability.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim strongly condemned the attack on civilians in Moscow and said ‘this utterly despicable atrocity can never be said to represent Islam or, indeed, any religion’.
In a statement, Ibrahim said that on behalf of the people of Malaysia he conveys his deepest sympathies and profound condolences to the victims, their families, as well as the people of Russia.
“This gruesome and barbaric rampage has no place in the civilised world. The fact that the attack took place in a major concert hall, an epicentre of culture, is almost certainly by design, calculated to inflict maximum damage,” he said.
“Additionally, as a Muslim, I feel compelled to underscore that this utterly despicable atrocity can never be said to represent Islam or, indeed, any religion.”