2024-03-24 06:48:30
Eleven suspects are said to have been arrested after the attack on a concert hall. Russia is trying to distract from the failure to counter terrorism and use the tragedy for propaganda against Ukraine.
Mourners lay flowers at a memorial after the terrorist attack in Moscow.
Imago/Tass
After the terrorist attack in Moscow that left at least 133 dead, the Russian leadership tried to construct a “Ukrainian trail”. Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the nation in a televised address on Saturday, claiming that Friday’s attackers had tried to flee to Ukraine. With the help of contacts in the neighboring country, a corridor was opened for them to cross the border. Putin thereby instigated the complicity of the Ukrainian security forces. However, the president did not provide any evidence to support his accusation.
Representatives and propagandists of the Putin regime sought to reinforce this narrative. “Now we know in which country these damn bastards wanted to hide from persecution – Ukraine,” said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. Other voices in Moscow called for harsh retaliation against the leadership in Kiev.
There are a number of reasons against the thesis of a planned escape to Ukraine. On the one hand, the Russian-Ukrainian border is swarming with Russian troops because of the war. The Kremlin has not explained how the attackers could have penetrated this security cordon unmolested. On the other hand, Belarus has officially announced that it has helped prevent refugees from crossing the border into the neighboring country. Initially it was also said that the suspects were arrested near the Belarusian border.
ISIS confession video
The Ukrainian authorities have categorically rejected allegations of any connection to the attack. In contrast, the terrorist group Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K) has openly claimed responsibility for the massacre. A video published on Sunday night shows that IS-K not only claims this, but is actually behind the attack on Friday evening. It was recorded with the body camera of one of the attackers and records how the attackers killed their victims with guns and knives, lit a fire and finally escaped. Apparently the perpetrators then had the opportunity to send their recordings to IS accomplices.
The bloodbath at Crocus City Hall on the outskirts of Moscow is the worst terrorist attack in Russia in two decades. According to official information, the search for more bodies in the rubble is ongoing, meaning the death toll could rise to 133. At least three children are among the dead. It was said that more than 150 people suffered injuries. The government has declared Sunday a national day of mourning. At the weekend, numerous people gathered in front of the burned-out concert hall to commemorate the victims and lay flowers.
At least four attackers were involved in the attack.
Screenshot X (Twitter)
According to the Russian authorities, all four people directly involved in the attack have been found and arrested. They were brought from the border province of Bryansk to the Russian capital for questioning on Saturday. Seven other people were arrested. However, the BBC reported that a fifth attacker died in the concert hall.
According to unconfirmed information, most of the suspects come from the former Soviet republic of Tajikistan. It is known that numerous Tajiks are active in the terrorist group IS-K. Authorities presented a videotaped interrogation with one of the detainees. The supposedly 25-year-old Tajik confessed to having taken part in the terrorist attack on behalf of unknown backers. He was promised the equivalent of 5,000 francs for this. The man said he was recruited through social networks and that he traveled from Turkey to Russia in early March. However, such “evidence” should be treated with caution; In such cases, staging can never be ruled out.
Panic and a late storm
It is clear that the perpetrators acted in a very planned and methodical manner. An eyewitness reported that the attackers were carrying bottles of flammable liquid, which they set on fire. According to the Civil Defense Ministry, a fire spread across almost 13,000 square meters in the seven-story building. The fire department was only able to put out the fire on Saturday, including by using firefighting helicopters.
The concert hall is located on the outskirts of Moscow
After the attack began, the approximately 6,200 spectators at the sold-out concert of the famous Russian rock band Piknik panicked. At the same time, other events took place on the upper floors, including a dance competition for children. Since emergency exits were apparently locked, many people hid in the basement. It was only on Saturday morning that the National Guard reported that everyone had been taken out of the building.
Given the heavy presence of security forces in everyday life in Russia, it seems surprising that special forces only stormed the building two hours after the first shots were fired. The troops later left the concert hall again, apparently because there was too much smoke. The perpetrators initially escaped. The authorities tightened security precautions at train stations and airports.
A few things seem quite obvious at this point:
◾️Putin started his fifth term with a bloody terrorist attack and most likely it will not be the last one
◾️rf special services either knew or were the actual organizers of the terrorist attack
◾️Putin for the sake of his goals… pic.twitter.com/tTbE5HjZDH
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) March 22, 2024
Warnings from the USA
American secret services warned Moscow of an impending terrorist attack in March and later made this public. In the Washington Post, one of the officials said: “We basically have a steady stream of information going back to November that ISIS wants to strike inside Russia.” Two weeks ago, the FSB said it had dismantled two Islamic State cells and killed several people in the process. Nevertheless, Putin called the American warning in the middle of this week a provocation from the West that was intended to unsettle Russian society.
The American secret services have a “duty to warn” policy. They also need to inform countries about possible terrorist attacks that do not sit well with Washington. They recently warned Tehran of an attack by the Islamic State, which then occurred in January 2024.
Just 3 days ago, Putin called warnings of terror attacks “Western blackmail”.
In any normal country, such a statement followed by an actual attack resulting in hundreds of victims would have led to an immediate resignation and criminal investigation for failing to carry out the… pic.twitter.com/CcmGxlVVJe
— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated) March 22, 2024
Moscow has a long history of terrorist attacks, often linked to its wars in the Muslim-dominated North Caucasus. The last major attack was carried out by a suicide bomber at Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport thirteen years ago. Since then there have only been minor attacks. Ukrainian intelligence has assassinated several nationalist figures since Putin’s 2022 invasion. However, the attacks were aimed directly at individuals and not at a mass of people.
In Moscow, the murdered are commemorated on illuminated boards.
Maxim Shemetov / Reuters
The USA provided information offensively, not least to make it more difficult for Putin to use the attack as a pretext for an escalation of the war in the neighboring country. “There is no evidence that Ukraine or Ukrainians had anything to do with the shooting,” said US Security Council communications director John Kirby.
Russian criticism of Washington
The Russian Foreign Ministry then criticized the US for exonerating Ukraine very quickly. It raises questions if Washington is already drawing such conclusions while the tragedy continues, spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on television. At the same time, the USA, together with several dozen states, expressed their condolences to Russia over the terrorist attack. The UN Security Council issued a statement calling for the perpetrators to be held accountable.
Collaboration: Elena Panagiotidis, Trudi Latour, Renzo Ruf (Washington), Forrest Rogers.
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