Islamic State claims responsibility for shooting that left at least 133 dead in Moscow, four attackers arrested

March 22, 2024 Today at 7:10 p.m.

Updated March 23, 2024 11:01

A shooting occurred Friday evening at a concert hall in the suburbs of Moscow, which also caught fire. The attack left at least 133 dead and more than a hundred injured, according to a latest report.

A shooting broke out Friday evening at Crocus City Hall, a concert hall located in the northwest of Moscow. “Unknown persons opened fire at Crocus City Hall. The evacuation of people is underway“, emergency services told the public agency Tass.

According to the Russian security forces (FSB), at least 133 people are believed to have died and more than a hundred are injured, including eight children. Tass reports two explosions, which led to a significant fire. The firefighters managed to contain it, but theThe roof of the building started to collapse.

According to the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry, more than a hundred people were evacuated through the basement. Operations were carried out to “save people on the roof of the building using lifting equipment.

Special units of the Russian National Guard entered the building to track down attackers and find possible survivors, but came out because of the fire. Police are still searching for the attackers and warn that the death toll from the attack “may further rise.”

Saturday morning, the Kremlin announced the arrest of 11 people, including the “four” attackers. “The director of the FSB (Russian security services) Mr. (Alexander) Bortnikov, informed Mr. (Vladimir) Putin of the arrest of 11 people, including the four terrorists directly involved in the attack,” indicated the presidency of Russian news agencies.

“The people in the room lay down on the ground to protect themselves from the gunfire for 15 to 20 minutes, following which they started crawling out.”

A Ria Novosti reporter

The terrorist organization Islamic State claimed responsibility for the shooting via the Telegram account of its propaganda agency Amaq, without providing proof of their involvement. The branch of the Islamic State in Khorasan (Isis-K), active in Central Asia, had already carried out a bomb attack in front of the Russian embassy in Kabul in 2022, and has multiplied in recent years the attacks once morest states allied to Moscow in the region (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan).

On March 7, the FSB announced the neutralization of an Isis-K cell who was planning attacks once morest the Jewish community in Moscow. That day, the American and British embassies in Moscow called on citizens of the capital to avoid large gatherings, including concerts, for 48 hours, citing the threat of “extremists”.

“Terrorist” attack, according to the public prosecutor

According to Russian media, the Crocus Hall has a capacity of 6.200 places, and the rock concert by the Russian group Picnic scheduled for this Friday evening was sold out. The attack allegedly took place before the concert began. The emergency services, cited by the Interfax agency, reported “two to five people unidentified women wearing tactical uniforms and armed with automatic weapons” who “opened fire on the security guards at the entrance to the concert hall” then “started shooting at the public”.

According to a journalist from Ria Novosti, the attackers burst onto the floor of the room before opening fire and throwing “a grenade or incendiary bomb, which caused a fire.” “The people in the room lay down on the floor to protect themselves from the gunfire for 15 to 20 minutes, following which they began to crawl out. Many managed to get out,” the reporter said.

Read also

After two years, the Kremlin admits to being “in a state of war”

The flames spread to nearly 13,000 m2 of the building before the fire was contained, according to the emergency services.

“There are still a few outbreaks, but the fire has been practically contained. Rescuers were able to enter the auditorium” where the roof had collapsed, the governor of the Moscow region, Andreï, said on Telegram overnight. Vorobiov.

The Russian public prosecutor’s office has opened a criminal investigation, and calls the attack terrorist. All large-scale events in the country have been canceled, the Ministry of Culture announced.

kyiv denies any involvement

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova on Friday called on the international community to condemn the shooting, calling it a “monstrous crime.”

The White House said to herself “in thoughts alongside the victims of the terrible attack”. France and Italy denounced “heinous acts”. The European Union said to herself “shocked and dismayed”.

Chinese President Xi Jinping offered his “condolences” on Saturday to Vladimir Putin, assuring that China “firmly supports the Russian government’s efforts to maintain security and stability” in Russia.

The office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine ‘had nothing to do’ with shooting.