Russia says 40 dead, 145 injured in concert hall raid; Islamic State group claims responsibility
apnews.com
Russia’s Federal Security Service says over 30 people were killed and more than 100 were wounded in an attack at a Moscow concert hall.

Assailants burst into a large concert hall in Moscow on Friday and sprayed the crowd with gunfire, killing over 60 people, injuring more than 100 and setting fire to the venue in a brazen attack just days after President Vladimir Putin cemented his grip on power in a highly orchestrated electoral landslide.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on affiliated channels on social media. A U.S. intelligence official told The Associated Press that U.S. intelligence agencies had learned the group’s branch in Afghanistan was planning an attack in Moscow and shared the information with Russian officials.

It wasn’t immediately clear what happened to the attackers after the raid, which state investigators were investigating as terrorism.

The attack, which left the concert hall in flames with a collapsing roof, was the deadliest in Russia in years and came as the country’s war in Ukraine dragged into a third year. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin called the raid a “huge tragedy.”

  • talEnglish
    10·
    9 months ago

    I believe that the last guy who decided that it would be a great idea to concurrently pick fights with all of London, Washington, and Moscow was Adolf Hitler.

    Come to think of it, we warned Moscow in advance that time too, and Stalin didn’t buy it then either.

    Hmm. Moscow was in the process of trying to annex a European country around that time too, Finland.

    EDIT: Nah, it sounds like we cleared it up. We do believe that this is Islamic State and we did warn Russia about an attack, but it was a different one. Apparently we didn’t have intelligence that this one might happen:

    https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mass-shooting-music-venue-crocus-city-hall-moscow-picnic-concert/

    A U.S. official tells CBS News the U.S. has intelligence confirming the Islamic State’s claims of responsibility, and that they have no reason to doubt those claims. The U.S. official also confirmed that the U.S. provided intelligence to Russia about a potential attack under the intelligence community’s Duty to Warn requirement.

    National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson confirmed that in a statement provided to CBS News Friday evening.

    “Earlier this month, the U.S. government had information about a planned terrorist attack in Moscow —potentially targeting large gatherings, to include concerts— which prompted the State Department to issue a public advisory to Americans in Russia,” Watson said. “The U.S. government also shared this information with Russian authorities in accordance with its longstanding ‘duty to warn’ policy.”

    Asked about the embassy’s notice issued on March 7, Kirby referred the question to the State Department, adding: “I don’t think that was related to this specific attack.”

    Responding to a question about whether Washington had any prior information about the assault, Kirby responded: “I’m not aware of any advance knowledge that we had of this terrible attack.”