Terror Attack: Russia Detains Suspects in Crocus Concert Hall as Death Toll Hits 133
“Terror Attack: Russia Detains Suspects in Crocus Concert Hall as Death Toll Hits 133”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed to punish those behind a deadly attack on a Moscow concert hall that has claimed 133 lives, after authorities said the four main suspects were caught near the border with Ukraine.
Friday’s assault on the Crocus City Hall was the deadliest terror attack on Russia’s capital in decades and comes less than a week after Putin secured victory in a stage-managed election, tightening his grip on the country he has ruled since the turn of the century.
The terror group ISIS claimed responsibility for the deadly incident. A US official said Friday that Washington had no reason to doubt ISIS’ claim.
The development prompted UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday to call for global cooperation against ISIS.
“ISIS is a terrorist organization that is operating in several parts of the world, and it is a very serious threat to us all … and we encourage all countries to work with each other in order to make sure that ISIS will not have the capacity to strike again anywhere else in the world,” Guterres said at a news conference.
Putin linked what he called a “barbaric terrorist attack” to Ukraine in a video statement released Saturday, as he expressed deep condolences and declared Sunday a national day of mourning.
The perpetrators, he said, had “tried to hide and move towards Ukraine, where, according to preliminary data, a window was prepared for them on the Ukrainian side to cross the border.”
Ukraine has denied any connection with the attack, and warned that Russia could use it as an excuse to ramp up its invasion.
On Saturday, the Russian Investigative Committee said the death toll in the Crocus City attack had risen to 133, adding that search work continues.
Also on Saturday, the Committee said that four men suspected of carrying out the attack had been taken into custody on Friday night near Russia’s border with Ukraine.
“Special services and law enforcement agencies in the Bryansk region, near the border with Ukraine, detained four suspects from among those who committed a terrorist attack in the Crocus City Hall concert hall,” the Committee said.
This was also reported by Russian state media agency RIA Novosti, which said that after the attack the criminals “intended to cross the border of the Russian Federation and Ukraine and had relevant contacts on the Ukrainian side, the FSB said.” The FSB — Russia’s security agency — did not specify the nature of the alleged contacts.
The Belarus ambassador to Russia, meanwhile, said that Belarusian special services helped Russia prevent “terrorists” from escaping across the border Friday night.
In his video address, Putin said that a total of 11 people had been detained and that the FSB and other agencies were working to establish “who provided them with transport, escape planned routes from the crime scene, prepared caches, caches of weapons and ammunition.”
“All perpetrators, organizers and instigators of this crime will suffer fair and inevitable punishment,” he added. “Whoever they are, whoever guides them. I repeat: we will identify and punish everyone who stands behind the terrorists, who prepared this atrocity, this attack on Russia, on our people.”
Russian state media has said all of those detained are foreign citizens.
RIA Novosti posted the purported confession of one of the men apprehended in connection with the attack. One of the alleged attackers had mentioned returning to Russia from Turkey earlier this month, according to RIA, and one said he’d been promised half-a-million rubles (about $5,000) to carry out the attack.
CNN cannot independently verify the veracity of the report or the statements made by the alleged attacker, which may have been made under duress.
Andrii Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s military intelligence, called Putin’s comments “completely false and absurd.”
“A full-scale war has been going on for more than two years. The border areas are saturated with enemy troops, special agents, and security forces,” he added. “Everyone in the world understands this, except perhaps the zombified Russian population.”
Horrific scenes after gunmen opened fire Testimony emerged on social media detailing the horrific scenes as survivors recalled playing dead to escape from the concert hall.
Russian media reported the attackers “opened fire with automatic weapons” and “threw a grenade or an incendiary bomb, which started a fire.”
Video showed panic as the attack unfolded, with crowds of people huddling together, screaming and ducking behind cushioned seats as gunshots started echoing in the vast hall. One group sheltering next to a large wall of windows outside the concert venue were forced to break them to escape the gunfire, video obtained by CNN shows.
“(The assailants) were standing there at the exit,” one woman said on Instagram. “We got up and started walking. They saw us. Some of them ran back and started shooting at people. I fell on the floor and pretended I was dead. And the girl next to me was killed.
“Then the flames flared up and they closed the door. They probably couldn’t lock it. I lay breathing under the door. After some time, I crawled out, looked around, there was smoke everywhere, and I crawled towards the exit.”
The international community, including the United States, China, Britain, and Germany, has expressed solidarity with Russia in condemning the attack and offering condolences to the victims’ families.
As Russia grapples with the aftermath of this tragedy, the world watches closely to see how authorities will handle the investigation and ensure justice for the lives lost in this senseless act of violence.
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https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/23/europe/moscow-concert-hall-attack-intl/index.html
“Terror Attack: Russia Detains Suspects in Crocus Concert Hall as Death Toll Hits 133” Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed to punish those behind a deadly attack on a Moscow concert hall that has claimed 133 lives, after authorities said the four main suspects were caught near the border with Ukraine. Friday’s assault on the…