“What interests us is the sponsor.” Four days after the terrorist attack claimed by the Islamic State (IS) at the Crocus City Hall concert hall on the outskirts of Moscow, the Russian government continues to accuse Ukraine of being complicit in the attack which left 139 dead, according to a provisional report.
For the first time since the attack, Vladimir Putin admitted on Monday March 25 that the attack had been committed by “radical Islamists” during a government meeting. But “what interests us is the sponsor,” continued the recently re-elected Russian president. Rhetoric echoed Tuesday by the Secretary of the Russian Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, at a press conference: “Of course it’s Ukraine,” he said, answering the question of whether Kiev or ISIS had orchestrated the attack.
On Friday March 22, Russia experienced the worst attack in the last twenty years – the deadliest claimed by ISIS on European soil so far. In 13 minutes, between 7:58 p.m. and 8:11 p.m. local time, attackers shot dozens of people before setting the auditorium on fire. The police found some 500 bullets, two Kalashnikov assault rifles and 28 magazines at the scene of the tragedy, specifying that they belonged to “the attackers”. In total, the number of victims stands at nearly 139 while 182 injured have been identified, according to a non-definitive report – the clearing of the building continues until Tuesday. Four days after the attack, gray areas remain about the identities and motivations of the attackers.
Ukraine denies any involvement
The Islamic State group considers Russia a legitimate target, Moscow fighting IS in Syria, in the Sahel and having waged war against Islamist and separatist groups in Chechnya, a Muslim region in the Russian Caucasus (South). Russian authorities announced on March 3 that they had killed six suspected IS fighters in Ingushetia, a small predominantly Muslim republic in the Caucasus. But although the Islamist organization claimed responsibility for the attack, Russian authorities assure that the alleged killers were trying to reach Ukrainian territory after the attack and evoke links with kyiv.
Ukraine and its Western allies, for their part, refute any Ukrainian involvement: “Putin is talking to himself again, and it is again broadcast on television. And again, he accuses Ukraine. is a sick and cynical creature,” reacted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in his daily evening speech.
The United States Embassy in Russia had warned American citizens two weeks earlier that “extremists (had) imminent plans” to “target large gatherings in Moscow, including concerts.” The White House claimed that this information had been shared with Russian authorities.
Vladimir Putin seems to want to draw attention to kyiv as questions emerge in Russia about how jihadists were able to penetrate the security system. For the Russian opposition, the authorities have been blinded by the repression of their detractors and the offensive against Ukraine, losing sight of the jihadist threat while Russia has been the target of numerous Islamist attacks in the past.
A dozen suspects arrested
On Saturday, four men from Central Asia, suspected of being the attackers, were arrested, before being presented before a judge the next day. “Dalerjon Mirzoyev, 32 years old, originally from Tajikistan, father of four young children; Saidakrom Rachabalizoda, 28 years old, also born in Tajikistan and living in Moscow; Chamsiddin Faridouni, 24 years old, also of Tajik nationality, father of a baby eight months, and Muhammadsobir Faizov – a 19-year-old hairdresser, also a Tajik citizen” are accused of an act of terrorism, lists Le Figaro. Placed in pre-trial detention until May 22, they face a life prison sentence.
Since then, eight other suspects have also been arrested, accused of having played a role in preparing the attack, the latest having been placed in pre-trial detention on Tuesday. According to authorities, this eighth suspect is from Kyrgyzstan, a Central Asian country neighboring Tajikistan. According to the Interfax agency, he is 31 years old and has Russian nationality. Three additional suspects were also placed in pre-trial detention on Monday until May 22. According to the Ria Novosti news agency, it concerns a father and two of his sons, one of whom, born in Tajikistan, holds Russian nationality.
“For money”
The motives of the attackers are still unclear. If the hearings of the suspected terrorists before the judge took place behind closed doors, certain passages were revealed by the press agencies, relays of Russian propaganda, such as TASS. These include the interrogation of one of the men who claims he was promised a financial reward: “I shot people at Crocus for money; [on m’a promis] about 500,000 rubles [5 000 euros, NDLR]”, he said. The inmate added that half of the money was transferred to his card, although he was promised to receive the other half later.”
Another, for his part, said he had been in contact with a man, Abdullo Bouriyev, who apprehended him on Telegram, according to Le Figaro. It could be an “assistant preacher”: the man of Tajik and Russian nationality could be the organizer of the Crocus attack. “From the same source, Bouriyev was already in the crosshairs of the Turkish security services for his membership in EI-K, the Afghan branch of Daesh,” continues Le Figaro.
Allegations of torture against the arrested suspects emerged after videos emerged showing them with bloody faces. Another video, the authenticity of which has not been confirmed, appears to show one of the suspects having his ear cut off with a knife. During the suspects’ hearing in a Moscow court on Sunday evening, one of them had a white bandage on his ear while another arrived in a wheelchair.
A trip to Türkiye
This Tuesday, a Turkish security source told AFP that two of the suspects arrested for their participation in the attack, Shamsidin Fariduni and Saidakram Rajabalizoda, traveled freely between Russia and Turkey, which they left together by plane on March 2 to return to Russia.
Shamsidin Fariduni entered Turkey on February 20 and left Russia on March 2 from Istanbul airport after a stay in a hotel in the megacity, in the Fatih district. The other suspect arrived in Istanbul on January 5, and immediately checked into a hotel in Fatih, which he left on January 21. “He then left for Moscow on March 2 on the same flight as Shamsidin Fariduni,” said the security source.
Turkey nevertheless denies any responsibility for the radicalization of these individuals given their short stay in the country, this official insisted. Ankara announced on Tuesday that it had arrested 147 people suspected of belonging to the Islamic State (IS) group in 30 of Turkey’s 81 provinces.