Moscow attack: Russia arrests gunmen after car chase; experts say Afghan ISIS branch top suspect | 10 points
Armed men killed 115 civilians in Crocus City Hall, Moscow, in Russia's deadliest attack since 2004. Visuals show people being shot at point-blank range before the building was set on fire. Islamic State claimed responsibility.
Armed men killed at least 143 civilians on Friday after entering the Crocus City Hall in Moscow — Russia's deadliest attack since the 2004 Beslan school siege. Visuals shared online showed people being gunned down at point-blank range with Kalashnikov automatic weapons before the building was set on fire. Islamic State has since claimed responsibility for the attack.
Mobile phone footage and eyewitness accounts show at least five gunmen wearing military-style gear and carrying assault rifles first attacking the unarmed security guards before entering the venue. They then proceeded to shoot gun down panicking civilians as they took their seats for a concert by a Soviet-era rock group.
Videos showed the men shooting screaming civilians with automatic weapons. Bodies were then seen motionless.
Here are the latest updates:
- Rescue and retrieval efforts remain underway with the Russian Investigative Committee now putting the confirmed toll at 143. Officials however warned that the number was likely to rise in the coming days.
- Russia has arrested 11 people ‘directly linked’ to the attack and efforts are underway to identify their accomplices . This includes four suspected gunmen who were reportedly nabbed while heading towards the Ukrainian border. According to the FSB security service, ‘all four terrorists’ had contacts in the other country.
- Russian lawmaker Alexander Khinshtein said the attackers had fled in a Renault vehicle after the attack. They were eventually spotted in the Bryansk region but disobeyed instructions to stop. Two of the assailants were arrested following a car chase. Updates from the Kremlin indicate that all four have now been detained.
- The lawmaker said that a pistol, a magazine for an assault rifle, and passports from Tajikistan were found in the car.
- Islamic State has since claimed the attack in a Telegram post, with terrorism experts linking it to the Afghan branch of IS. The ISKP has managed to poach members from its rival movement since the Taliban takeover and repeatedly shown off its will and capability to strike outside the country's borders.
- US intelligence has confirmed that ISIS-K was responsible for the shooting. Officials told Reuters that Washington had warned Moscow “appropriately” about the possibility of an attack in recent weeks. The Crocus City Hall attack incidentally came two weeks after the US embassy in Russia warned that "extremists" had imminent plans for an attack.
- Two weeks ago — hours before the US Embassy warning — the FSB security service said that it had foiled an attack on a Moscow synagogue by Islamic State's affiliate in Afghanistan. ISIS-Khorasan or ISIS-K seeks a caliphate across Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Iran.
- “We strongly condemn the heinous terrorist attack in Moscow. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims. India stands in solidarity with the government and the people of the Russian Federation in this hour of grief,” tweeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Business NewsNewsWorldMoscow attack: Russia arrests gunmen after car chase; experts say Afghan ISIS branch top suspect | 10 points
First Published:23 Mar 2024, 04:25 PM IST
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