Eleven people had been arrested at 1:20 p.m., Swedish time, for the attack on Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk outside Moscow. At least 133 people were killed. The terrorist sect IS has claimed responsibility.
In a speech, President Putin claims that all the culprits have been arrested.
Terror attack in Moscow
Hear the witnesses to the terrorist act: “Shoot right into the crowd”
This points to IS being behind the terrorist attack in Moscow
According to Russian authorities, four of them have been arrested in the Bryansk region. They were allegedly on their way to the Ukrainian border when they were discovered by the police. A firefight reportedly broke out, according to state news agency Ria.
Russian media show the men bloodied
Several video clips of the suspects, whose identities have not yet been clarified, have been published by Russian news channels. One shows how one of them is interrogated after lying on the ground and being pulled by the hair.
He says he got to Russia via Turkey and that a “preacher’s assistant” offered him half a million rubles to kill everyone in the concert hall. Who the client is is not mentioned.
In one clip, what is said to be the group’s leader is interrogated, with blood on his face, and in another, a suspect is dragged out of a wooded lot. A clip shows someone cutting his ear.
A picture of a fourth suspect shows him lying on the ground with an injured eye. It is difficult to determine whether he is alive.
Tajikistan connection details
Some of the suspected men are reported, among others by the news channel Baza, to have connections to Tajikistan. State Ria writes that the information is not confirmed, while the Russian Ministry of the Interior states that they are not Russian.
Tajikistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote early on Saturday that they had not been informed that Tajik citizens had been involved.
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Hear the Russian president comment on the terrorist attack in Moscow. Photo: Reuters
Meduza: Instructions from the Kremlin
State and pro-Kremlin media outlets are reportedly going to the independent news site Jellyfish having been instructed by the regime to emphasize in its reporting the alleged connection to Ukraine.
The Ukrainian government has denied any involvement. They claim that the attack was organized by the Kremlin, which, according to them, is ready to “kill its own” to achieve its goals and whip up hatred against Ukraine.
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Dave Primov witnessed the attack. Photo: ASTRA. SVT.