Vladimir Putin affirmed, this Monday, March 25, that the attack against a concert hall near Moscow, claimed by the Islamic State group, had been committed by “radical Islamists” who according to him tried to flee to Ukraine .
“We know that (this) crime was committed by radical Islamists with an ideology that the Islamic world itself has been fighting against for centuries,” he told a government meeting, citing the link to the first time, three days after ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.
“We know who committed this atrocity against Russia and its people. What interests us is who ordered it,” he added. He then repeated that the attackers, after the attack which left at least 139 dead, according to a new report, had tried to flee towards Ukrainian territory before being arrested. “It is important to answer the question why the terrorists, after their crime, tried to leave for Ukraine? Who was waiting for them there? Those who support the Kiev regime do not want to be accomplices of terror and supporters of terrorism, but many questions arise,” the Russian president said.
Unanswered questions
Three days after the tragedy, many questions remain unanswered, particularly regarding the identity and motivations of the four main suspects. The latter, at least one of whom is from Tajikistan in Central Asia, have already been placed in pre-trial detention until May 22. They face a life sentence.
After brief hearings, three other suspects were remanded in custody on Monday until the same date. According to the Ria Novosti news agency, it concerns a father and two of his sons, one of whom, born in Tajikistan, has Russian nationality. Russian authorities announced on Saturday that they had arrested a total of eleven people and did not immediately confirm that these three suspects were among them.
The Islamic State group, which Russia is fighting in Syria and which is active in the Russian Caucasus, claimed responsibility for the attack but Russian authorities said the suspected killers were trying to reach Ukrainian territory after the attack. kyiv, which has been facing an assault by Russian troops since February 2022, has denied any “link with the incident”. The United States also rejected the Russian president’s version.