Guillaume Dominguez with AFP / Photo credit: STRINGER / AFP 7:07 a.m., March 23, 2024

More than 60 people were killed and 115 injured Friday evening in an armed attack followed by a huge fire in a concert hall in the suburbs of Moscow, which was claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group. An attack which comes shortly after the re-election of Vladimir Putin as head of the country and which questions experts in international relations.

A shooting followed by a huge fire in the Crocus City Hall concert hall, in Krasnogorsk, a suburb of Moscow, where several armed men entered, left at least 60 dead and at least 115 injured on Friday evening. The Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack and Russian law enforcement officials said they were "searching" for the attackers and authorities warned that the death toll from the attack "may increase." If Russia has already experienced a series of terrorist attacks in 2002, 2004 and 2010, this new attack raises questions, barely a week after the re-election of Vladimir Putin as head of the country.

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“The war in Ukraine focuses our attention on other themes. But international terrorism and Islamist terrorism cannot at all be removed from the news in Russia,” says Sergei Jirnov, former member of the KGB and expert in relations. international and intelligence. "In my opinion, it will change absolutely nothing on the front in Ukraine. But on the other hand, Putin will be forced to proclaim a state of emergency in relation to this terrorist threat in several cities in Russia. And that, of course, will will have a consequence in the organization of the secret services. But in my opinion, there will be no direct consequence on the war in Ukraine,” he adds.

Vladimir Putin, who was informed "from the first minutes" of the attack, according to the Kremlin, wished a speedy recovery to the victims and thanked the doctors, after receiving reports from law enforcement officials and services rescue. He has not yet spoken publicly. The Investigative Committee released a video showing investigators working in the lobby of the concert hall, where an automatic weapon and ammunition magazines can be seen.