Terrorist Attack Hits Moscow Music Venue

[Webster]

(The Guardian) 2:18pm Summary
-Moscow has suffered a major terrorist attack after several gunmen dressed in camouflage fired on people at the Crocus City Hall music venue on the outskirts of the city on Friday evening.

Here is what we know so far:
*Between two and five gunmen were involved in the attack, Russian media reports. Footage showed people being shot in the foyer in a rampage-style atrocity.
*The attackers also used explosives that started a large fire, state media reported. The fire has engulfed a third of the concert venue building and the roof of the building is almost completely engulfed in flames, Tass reported. Large plumes of smoke could be seen billowing into the sky.
*Early reports put the death toll at 14.
*Video footage published on Russian social media channels showed a large crowd of concertgoers attempting to flee the hall as numerous loud gunshots could be heard.
*Special units of Russia’s national guard have arrived on the scene and more than 50 ambulance crews have been sent.

Moscow concert hall shooting: at least 40 killed and 100 wounded in attack; roof collapsing as fire rips through venue – latest updates

More than 100 people injured in attack on Crocus City Hall, says FSB, as Russian officials investigate incident as terrorist attack

www.theguardian.com

 

[Webster]

(UPDATED): Terror Attack in Moscow Concert Hall - Multiple Fatalities Reported

redstate.com

 

[DrLeftover]

And Vlad is blaming Ukraine.

 

[MrDawn]

And Vlad is blaming Ukraine.

I wouldn't be surprised if Russia was behind this, to get people to be more motivated to fuel the war effort. They've done shady shit before when Stalin was in power.

 

[Webster]

(The Guardian) 6:05pm 23 March 2024 Summary
--US National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson issued a statement on Saturday saying that the Islamic State bears sole responsibility for the deadly attack near Moscow on Friday and there was no Ukrainian involvement “whatsoever”. The US government a few weeks ago shared information with Russia about a planned attack in Moscow and issued a public advisory to Americans in Russia on March 7, Watson added.
--The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, used his nightly public address to condemn Russia for claiming that Ukraine had been involved in the attack and was seeking to help the attackers escape. Calling Russian president Vladimir Putin a “low-life”, Zelenskiy added: “What happened yesterday in Moscow is obvious: Putin and the other scum are just trying to blame it on someone else … They always have the same methods.”
--Russian television has aired footage of the detention and questioning of four men the authorities say are suspected of carrying out the deadly attack on a Moscow-area concert hall. Russia’s Channel One television showed footage of four suspects and their damaged white Renault car. It said they had been captured by special forces in the village of Khatsun in the western Bryansk region, which is close to borders with Ukraine and Belarus.
--Neither Vladimir Putin, nor any of his government representatives, have responded to claims by the Islamic State religious terrorist group that they were responsible for the attack on a pop concert in the Moscow suburbs on Friday night.
--Several security analysts have said that the claim of responsibility by the Islamic State for the massacre of Russian concertgoers appears to be plausible and fits with a pattern of previous marauding attacks by Islamist militants.
--The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, currently in the Middle East, issued a statement on Saturday afternoon that the US condemns “terrorism in all its forms and stands in solidarity with the people of Russia in grieving the loss of life from this horrific event”. He called the attack “a heinous crime”.
--The Islamic State (IS) jihadist group said on Saturday that four of its militants carried out an attack on a concert hall in a Moscow suburb that Russian authorities said had killed at least 133 people, and that they used firebombs among its weapons
--The four suspected gunmen detained after the deadly attack on a concert hall near Moscow are all foreign citizens, Russia’s interior ministry said.
US intelligence gathered information just this month that ISPK, a branch of the Islamic State group based in Afghanistan, was eyeing Russia for a terrorist attack, the New York Times reported.
--Putin told the Russian people that Ukraine is linked to the Crocus City Hall terror attack. In a video address lasting five-and-a-half minutes on Saturday, the newly re-elected Russian president said Russian security forces believed they had apprehended all four direct participants in the attack, who they said were caught heading for Ukraine, which they said was preparing to receive them over the border. Kyiv has rubbished the claims.
--Putin described the attack as a “bloody, barbaric terrorist act”, and said the victims were “dozens of peaceful, innocent people – our compatriots, including children, teenagers and women”. He said the Russian Federation would “identify and punish everyone who prepared the terrorist attack”.
--Ukraine has denied any link to the attack. Presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said attempts to connect the two were “absolutely untenable”. He said: “Ukraine has not the slightest connection to this incident. Ukraine has a full-scale war with Russia and will solve the problem of Russia’s aggression on the battlefield.” Neither Putin nor the FSB publicly presented any proof of a link with Ukraine.
--On Saturday morning, 107 people remained in hospital after the attack, including three children, one of whom is described as being in critical condition. After a drive to receive blood donations in Moscow, deputy prime minister Tatyana Golikova said “there is enough medicine, blood and dressing materials”.
--Putin has declared Sunday 24 March a day of national mourning. People have been laying flowers and toys as a tribute to the victims at the site of the attack, as well as outside Russian embassies all around the world.
--Images from inside the venue show that the auditorium has been completely gutted by fire and the roof has collapsed. Russian authorities say people died both from gunshot wounds and the effects of the fire.
--The terrorist attack has been widely condemned around the world. Notwithstanding tensions caused by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Britain’s foreign secretary David Cameron, European commission president Ursula von der Leyen and French president Emmanuel Macron have been among those condemning the attack and offering condolences. Putin spoke to the leaders of Belarus and Uzbekistan by phone. Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also offered his support, saying terrorism is “the common enemy of humanity”.

 

[DrLeftover]

Moscow concert hall attack: How did ISIL recoup, five years after ‘defeat’?​

The group’s Afghanistan arm in particular has gained since the return of the Taliban — even though the two are enemies — say analysts.

Moscow concert killings: How did ISIL recoup, five years after ‘defeat’?

The group’s Afghanistan arm in particular has gained since the return of the Taliban — even though the two are rivals.

www.aljazeera.com

 

[Nebulous]

RIP to the victims