There was a suspected terrorist attack at a concert near Moscow on Friday in which more than 130 people were killed. There is still uncertainty about the background.
The terrorist group Islamic State (IS) had already claimed responsibility for the attack on Saturday night, but Russian President Vladimir Putin saw a “Ukrainian trace” behind the attack – but without providing any evidence for it.
News March 24, 2024 After the attack: National day of mourning in Russia
Duration 0:29 min
In Russia, the government has declared a national day of mourning for today because of the terrorist attack in a concert hall near Moscow. Across the country, people are remembering the victims – at least 130 are said to have been killed. Jürgen Buch for Studio Moscow.
IS distributes video of attack on concert hall near Moscow
On Sunday night, IS once again claimed responsibility for the attack. A 1:31 minute long video was published on Telegram. According to the news agencies Reuters and AFP, several people can be seen and heard armed with assault rifles and knives. They apparently fired shots in the entrance hall of the Crocus City Hall in the Moscow suburb of Krasnogorsk.
Attack in Moscow: Putin points to a lead to Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin described the attack in Moscow as a “barbaric terrorist act” in a video address on Saturday. He also spoke of traces to Ukraine. Putin did not respond to IS’s confession.
This is what Ukraine says about the allegations
Ukraine, against which Russia has been waging a war of aggression for more than two years, clearly rejected rumors of involvement. In his daily video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Putin and his followers were “just trying to blame someone else.” The USA also sees no evidence that Ukraine is involved in the attack.
Attack near Moscow: This is what happened
- Unidentified people in camouflage clothing stormed an event hall in the Moscow region on Friday evening.
- According to eyewitnesses, the suspected perpetrators shot randomly at concert-goers and set fires with gasoline they had in their backpacks.
- According to the Interfax news agency, two to five assassins are said to have been involved in the attack.
- According to Russian authorities, 133 people were killed.
The Crocus City Hall in a Moscow suburb burns.
picture alliance/dpa/AP | Vitaly Smolnikov
Expert: No evidence for Putin’s version
Im ARD-Brennpunkt said terror expert Peter Neumann from King’s College in London that there is no doubt about IS’s commitment. There have been three messages claiming responsibility from IS so far, all of which are authentic and have been distributed through official IS channels, he explained.
There is already a lot of fake news on Russian Telegram channels – presumably to spin the narrative that Ukraine was responsible for the attack. The truth is: the message of confession was sent through all official IS channels. Me and my colleagues can confirm this 100%.
Putin implied that Ukraine played an active role. “And there is no evidence of this – quite the opposite,” says Neumann.
Arrests after attack near Moscow
The Russian Interior Ministry said the attack was carried out by foreign citizens. Putin personally announced the arrest of “all four attackers” in a televised speech. They were arrested while “moving towards Ukraine.” Russian state television showed footage of the arrest and interrogation of the four suspected attackers on Saturday evening. According to the Russian domestic intelligence service FSB, there have been a total of eleven arrests so far.
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