The death toll from the attack claimed by the jihadist group Islamic State (IS) against a concert hall in the suburbs of Moscow on Friday March 22 is increasing. The assault, which Russian media began reporting around 8:15 p.m. in Moscow, was carried out by several armed individuals at Crocus City Hall, a 13,000 m2 concert hall located in Krasnogorsk, at the northwest exit of the Russian capital.
The attack was claimed by the Islamic State group on one of its Telegram accounts on Friday evening.
Information to remember
⇒ The attack left at least 93 dead, according to a new report released on Saturday morning
⇒ 11 people were arrested, including four attackers, announces the Kremlin
⇒ Russian security services say suspects had “contacts” in Ukraine
The toll of the attack increases
The death toll from the attack rose to 93 dead and is expected to “rise further”, the Russian Investigative Committee announced on Saturday morning. A previous report reported 60 dead and 115 injured.
The attackers opened fire on spectators and set the building on fire with an “inflammable liquid,” according to investigators.
11 people arrested
The Kremlin announced on Saturday morning the arrest of 11 people, including the “four” attackers of the armed attack. “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 Russian security services (FSB) said on Saturday that the suspects in the deadly attack on a concert hall in the suburbs of Moscow on Friday had “contacts” in Ukraine and planned to flee there. “After committing the terrorist attack, the criminals intended to cross the Russian-Ukrainian border and had appropriate contacts on the Ukrainian side,” said the FSB, quoted by the TASS agency, suspects having been arrested in a Russian border region of Ukraine.
Ukraine denies any involvement
An advisor to the Ukrainian presidency, Mykhaïlo Podoliak, said on Friday March 22 that Ukraine, which has been facing a Russian military offensive for two years, had “absolutely nothing to do” with the shooting, which he called of a “terrorist act”.
A unit of Russian anti-Kremlin fighters behind several armed incursions on the Russian border in recent months, the Russian Freedom Legion, has also denied any involvement. “The Legion does not fight Russian civilians,” assured this group.
Numerous international reactions
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday offered his “condolences” to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. “China strongly condemns the terrorist attack and firmly supports the Russian government’s efforts to maintain security and stability” in Russia, Xi Jinping wrote, according to comments reported by the official Xinhua news agency.
The White House said it was “in thoughts with the victims of the terrible attack.” The EU and Spain said they were “shocked”. French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the Security Council and many other countries condemned the attack.
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