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At least 93 killed and more than 100 injured in Moscow concert attack, says Russia
A Russian Rosguardia (National Guard) servicemen secures an area as a massive blaze seen over the Crocus City Hall on the western edge of Moscow, Russia, 22/03/24.
By Euronews with AP
Published on 22/03/2024 - 19:23•Updated 23/03/2024 - 10:1
Friday's attack is the deadliest in Russia for nearly 20 years.
Russian authorities have said at least 93 people, including three children, were killed and more than 100 wounded in an attack on a prominent Moscow concert hall on Friday.
A group of gunmen dressed in combat gear stormed into the Crocus City Hall in the west of the Russian capital and sprayed crowds with gunfire.
Eleven people have since been detained, according to the Russian state news agency Tass.
Russia's Investigative Committee said four of those detained were directly involved in the attack. They were stopped in the Bryansk region of western Russia, “not far from the border with Ukraine,” it said.
Russia's leading investigative body is probing the mass shooting as a terrorist attack.
The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility in a social media post, though these claims have yet to be independently confirmed.
A view of the Crocus City Hall burned after a terrorist attack is seen on the western edge of Moscow, Russia, Saturday, March 23, 2024.
A view of the Crocus City Hall burned after a terrorist attack is seen on the western edge of Moscow, Russia, Saturday, March 23, 2024.Vitaly Smolnikov/Copyright 2024 The AP. All rights reserved
AP news agency reported that US intelligence had learned the group's branch in Afghanistan was planning an attack in Moscow, sharing this information with Russian officials.
It is not immediately clear what happened to the attackers after the raid.
The assault occurred just days after President Vladimir Putin cemented his grip on the country in a highly orchestrated electoral landslide.
Some commentators on Russian social media questioned how authorities, who relentlessly surveil and pressure Kremlin critics, failed to identify the threat and prevent the attack.
According to Interfax, a group of men began shooting both at the building's entrance and within the hall, where numerous attendees were present for a "Picnic" rock group concert. The band were unharmed.
Videos recorded by eyewitnesses audibly captured the machine gun fire, while others show men shooting screaming people at point-blank range.
“There were volleys of gunfire,” Dave Primov, who was in the hall during the attack, told AP. “We all got up and tried to move toward the aisles. People began to panic, started to run and collided with each other. Some fell down and others trampled on them.”
News reports said that the assailants also used explosives, sparking a massive blaze in the concert hall that caused the roof to collapse.
A massive blaze is seen over the Crocus City Hall on the western edge of Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 22, 2024
A massive blaze is seen over the Crocus City Hall on the western edge of Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 22, 2024Sergei Vedyashkin/AP
The Investigative Committee, the top state criminal investigation agency, reported early Saturday that more than 93 people were killed.
Health authorities released a list of 145 injured - 115 of them hospitalised, including five children.
Video posted on social media showed huge plumes of black smoke rising over the building, which can accommodate up to 6,200 people.
Russian authorities said security was tightened at Moscow’s airports and railway stations.
Following the deadly armed assault, Moscow's Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has announced the cancellation of all public events scheduled for the weekend in the city.
Belarusian leader Aleksandr Lukashenko, in a message to Putin, vehemently denounced the “brutal murder of innocent people,” a sentiment echoed by Kazakh President Tokayev, who also offered support to Russian law enforcement.
A couple walk near the Crocus City Hall on the western edge of Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 22, 2024.
A couple walk near the Crocus City Hall on the western edge of Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 22, 2024.AP Photo/Dmitry Serebryakov
Ukraine denies involvement in attacks
In a statement, the Islamic State (IS) group said it attacked a large gathering of “Christians” in Krasnogorsk on Moscow’s outskirts, killing and wounding hundreds. Euronews could not verify this claim.
However, US intelligence officials confirmed IS's claim to AP, telling the news agency they had gathered information of a looming attack in recent weeks and shared this with Russian authorities.
In October 2015, a bomb planted by IS downed a Russian passenger plane over Sinai, killing all 224 people on board - mostly Russian holidaymakers.
Russian Rosguardia (National Guard) servicemen walk toward the Crocus City Hall on the western edge of Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 22, 2024.
Russian Rosguardia (National Guard) servicemen walk toward the Crocus City Hall on the western edge of Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 22, 2024.Sergei Vedyashkin/Moscow News Agency
The group, which operates in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Africa, has claimed several attacks in Russia’s volatile Caucasus and other regions in the past years. It recruited fighters from Russia and other parts of the former Soviet Union.
The White House offered its sympathies to the victims and their families in light of the attack.
The Kremlin didn’t immediately blame anyone for the attack.
But Deputy Chairman of the UN Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, claimed the “Kyiv regime” could be behind the bloodbath.
Ukraine has denied involvement in the attacks, with Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the Ukrainian president writing on X: "Ukraine certainly has nothing to do with the shooting/explosions in the Crocus City Hall (Moscow Region, Russia). It makes no sense whatsoever"
"Everything in this war will be decided only on the battlefield...Terrorist attacks do not solve any problems," he added.
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