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Emergency services in front of Crocus City Hall
Photo: Dmitry Serebryakov / AP
The death toll is rising after the attack on an event hall in the Moscow region. On Saturday morning, investigators said there were at least 93, and the number would continue to increase. The Ria news agency reports, citing the Ministry of Health, that three children were among the victims.
An exact number of injured is not known at this time. On Saturday morning, when there was still talk of 60 deaths, the Ministry of Health in the affected Moscow region initially spoke of 145 injured and 115 were being treated in hospitals, including at least five children. 60 of the injured are in a “serious condition.”
Russia's Central Investigative Committee has opened a case into a suspected act of terrorism, as the authority announced on the Telegram news service (read the minutes of the events here).
The alleged perpetrators were apparently able to initially flee the crime scene on Friday evening. The authorities have now reported the arrest of at least eleven suspects. According to the information, there are also four suspected assassins.
Terrorist expert considers IS confession letters to be genuine
Late on Friday evening, the so-called “Islamic State” (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack via the Telegram channel of its Amaq News Agency. Terror expert Peter Neumann from King's College in London believes the IS terrorist militia's letter of responsibility is genuine. The German-born scientist warns against false news circulating on Russian Telegram channels. It says that the IS communication was fake. Neumann says there is "already a lot of fake news - probably to spin the narrative that Ukraine was responsible for the attack."
Ukraine denies involvement
Kiev representatives reject the suspicion of Ukrainian involvement. “Ukraine has absolutely no connection to the events,” emphasized Mykhailo Podoljak, advisor to Presidential Office Chief Andriy Yermak, in a video message on Telegram. His country is at war with Russia and the Russian army and will crush them with "decisive offensive actions." But: "Unlike the Russian Federation, Ukraine has never used terrorist methods of warfare, terrorism as such."
In an initial reaction, the USA also warned not to establish any connection with Ukraine. "There is no evidence that Ukraine or Ukrainians had anything to do with the shooting," said US National Security Council Communications Director John Kirby in Washington. Not much can be said about the details yet, but at this early stage we strongly advise against the assumption that there is a connection to Ukraine.
Western embassies had recently warned of terrorist attacks in Moscow. The Kremlin dismissed this as a provocation from the West.
Fire in an area of 13,000 square meters
According to authorities, there were shots and explosions in the event hall. Unidentified people wearing camouflage clothing stormed the Crocus City Hall shortly before the start of a concert and opened fire, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office said.
The Russian Ministry of Civil Defense announced that the building in which the concert hall is located was temporarily engulfed in flames over an area of 13,000 square meters. Photos showed blazing flames and a huge cloud of smoke. The roof partially collapsed.
The Crocus City Hall has several event halls that are also used for trade fairs. It is one of the most popular leisure spots for Muscovites and those living in the surrounding areas of the Russian capital. Stars have appeared there again and again. There was supposed to be a concert by the Russian rock band Piknik on Friday evening.
Putin wishes the injured a speedy recovery
According to the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin was informed about the events "from the first minute." According to the Interfax agency, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that he constantly receives all important information about what is happening and the measures taken via the relevant services. Putin wishes those injured in the attack a speedy recovery, Deputy Prime Minister Tatjana Golikova said via the state news agency Tass.
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The head of the Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian parliament, Valentina Matviyenko, threatened the masterminds of the attack with retaliation. “Those behind this terrible crime will receive the deserved and inevitable punishment,” she wrote on her Telegram channel. At the same time, she announced, the state would do everything it could to help those left behind.
The Foreign Office wrote on X about a “terrible attack on innocent people.” The background must be clarified quickly: “Our deepest sympathy goes out to the families of the victims.”
vet/czl/dpa