In a chilling assault that shocked Russia, Islamic militants stormed a concert hall in suburban Moscow, leaving a trail of death and destruction in their wake. Russian President Vladimir Putin swiftly acknowledged the attack on Monday, attributing it to Islamic militants while suggesting potential links to Ukraine.
According to Putin, the attack, which targeted a concert by the iconic Soviet-era rock group Piknik, aimed to instill panic among Russian citizens. Putin hinted at a possible motive tied to Ukraine, insinuating that the Kyiv regime might have played a role in the assault. He disclosed that 11 individuals, including the suspected gunmen, had been detained, with efforts to slip into Ukraine thwarted in the Bryansk region.
The death toll from the harrowing incident, described as the deadliest attack within Russia in two decades, climbed to 139, with 182 others wounded, as reported by Alexander Bastrykin, head of Russia’s Investigative Committee.
Putin condemned the perpetrators as radical Islamists, denouncing their ideology as antithetical to the values upheld by the Muslim world. He emphasized the need to identify those behind the attack, hinting at a possible connection to ongoing hostilities with Ukraine since 2014.
In the aftermath, both France and the US pointed to intelligence suggesting the involvement of the Islamic State (ISIS). The US, invoking the ‘duty to warn’ protocol, alerted Russia to an imminent attack, attributing responsibility to ISIS-K, an Afghan affiliate of the terrorist organization.
Moscow’s Basmanny district court remanded several individuals of Tajik origin on terrorism charges, with Islamic State claiming responsibility and circulating purported footage of the massacre. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy vehemently rejected Putin’s insinuations, asserting Ukraine’s innocence and accusing Putin of deflecting blame.
Unverified videos circulating on social media depicted gruesome scenes, raising concerns about possible torture of detainees. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to address allegations of torture.
