The attack left dozens dead (French)

The Kremlin announced the arrest of 11 people, including the four perpetrators directly involved in the attack that targeted a concert hall in Moscow yesterday, Friday, killing 93 people. While the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, international and Arab condemnations of it continued, while Ukraine confirmed that it had nothing to do with it.

The Kremlin said that the Federal Security Service is working to identify the party complicit with those who committed the attack.

The Russian Investigative Committee said on Saturday, citing preliminary data, that at least 93 were killed in the attack, and warned that the death toll is likely to rise. The committee indicated that the suspects were arrested in the Russian Bryansk region, near the Ukrainian border.

The Russian Security Service said the suspects in the attack planned to cross the border and were in contact with people on the Ukrainian side.

Investigators said that the perpetrators of the attack set the building on fire with a “flammable liquid.”

TASS news agency quoted Nikolai Patrushev, Secretary of the Russian Security Council, a prominent ally of President Vladimir Putin, as saying on Saturday that those responsible for the attack on the concert near Moscow would be punished. Patrushev added, "The attack showed the extent of the threat that terrorism poses to Russia."

ISIS claims responsibility

ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, and said in a statement posted on Telegram that its fighters “attacked a large gathering on the outskirts of the Russian capital, Moscow,” and added that the fighters “withdrew to their bases safely.”

Russian authorities said that gunmen opened fire during a rock concert at the Crocus City Concert Hall near Moscow and started a fire in the hall.

The Russian Emergencies Ministry reported that about 100 people were evacuated from the concert hall, while TASS said that the roof of the theater collapsed due to the outbreak of fire and civilians were still inside.

The Russian National Guard announced that it was at the scene of the incident and was searching for the perpetrators, while Russian media said that the security services arrested two people suspected of carrying out the attack.

In turn, a spokesman for the Investigative Committee said that it was too early to say anything about the fate of the attackers, according to what the Russian Information Agency reported.

The attackers entered the building wearing camouflage uniforms, opened fire and threw a hand grenade or a firebomb, according to what a RIA Novosti news agency journalist reported at the scene.

The Russian Interfax news agency reported that the fire - which broke out in the concert hall - had spread to an area of ​​12,900 square metres, noting that it had not been controlled yet.

The authorities have opened a "criminal investigation into a terrorist act," while President Vladimir Putin receives "continuous" updates, according to what his spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agencies.

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International condemnations

At the international level, the United Nations expressed its sadness over the attack, and Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General of the United Nations, said yesterday, Friday, that a statement will be issued regarding the incident. The United Nations Security Council also condemned yesterday what it described as a “heinous and cowardly terrorist attack.”

Italy described this attack as a "heinous terrorist act," while Spain expressed its "shock" and affirmed its solidarity with the victims. Turkey also condemned the attack and offered its condolences to the Russian people and government.

For its part, the United States denounced the incident and considered it a “horrific armed attack,” while France declared its sympathy with the victims of the “horrific” incident and said that “light should be shed on these heinous acts.”

On Saturday, Chinese President Xi Jinping also offered his "condolences" to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, after the attack, and stressed that "China opposes terrorism in all its forms, strongly condemns the terrorist attack, and firmly supports the efforts of the Russian government to maintain security and stability" in the country, according to what was reported by China's state news agency. New news.

On the Arab level, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain and Palestine condemned the attack and expressed their condolences to the government and people of Russia, while affirming their complete rejection and denunciation of all forms of violence and terrorism.

The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) also condemned the attack in a statement on the Telegram platform at dawn today, Saturday, and expressed its full solidarity with Russia, its people, and the families of the victims.

The number of victims of the attack rose to 93 dead and more than 105 wounded (French) Ukraine denies its involvement

Immediately after the attack was announced, doubts began to swirl about Ukraine's relationship with it. In this regard, Dmitry Medvedev, former Russian president and deputy head of the National Security Council, confirmed yesterday, Friday, that his country would "eliminate" Ukrainian leaders if they were found to be responsible for the bloody attack on a concert hall on the outskirts of Moscow.

"If they are proven to be terrorists affiliated with the Kiev regime, they must all be found and mercilessly eliminated as terrorists, including the leaders of the state that committed this terrible act," Medvedev said via Telegram.

For its part, Ukraine was quick to announce that it had nothing to do with the attack, and the advisor to the Ukrainian presidential office, Mykhailo Podoliak, said in a statement via the Telegram application that Ukraine had “nothing to do” with the attack.

Podolyak added, "These events bear signs of terrorism practiced by the leadership of the aggressive state (Russia) against its people," stressing that "Ukraine - unlike the Russian Federation - has never used terrorist methods of war or terrorism per se."

On the other hand, Ukrainian military intelligence yesterday, Friday, accused Russian special services of planning an attack on a concert hall in Moscow.

The agency said via Telegram that “the terrorist attack in Moscow was a planned and deliberate provocation by the Russian special services on Putin’s orders,” considering that the attack “must be understood as a threat from Putin to provoke escalation and expand the war.”

White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby also denied any "indications of Ukrainian involvement" in the attack.

Kirby said in statements he made yesterday, Friday, that it was too early to make any assessment, but "there is currently no indication of the involvement of Ukraine or the Ukrainians in this attack, as the news is still very new."

Russian security forces are still searching for the perpetrators of the attack on the Moscow concert hall (Reuters) Advance American-British flag

On the other hand, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that the United States and Britain had prior knowledge of the armed attack on the Moscow concert hall.

"This is something we have said many times, but very few people want to hear it, very few people want to believe it, and very few people think to look at the facts," Vucic added while participating in a local television program yesterday, Friday.

He continued, "The American Embassy in Moscow called on its citizens on March 7 not to go to shopping centers, and the British and others did the same thing."

He added, "This means that their own intelligence services were listening to some conversations and obtaining information and knew that this would happen."

But an American official said yesterday that the United States had warned Russia in the past few weeks of the possibility of an attack on its territory.

He added that the United States has information that confirms what ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack on a concert near Moscow.

An invitation to convene the Security Council

In a related context, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Friday that Moscow would call on the UN Security Council to hold a meeting regarding this attack.

The ministry's ambassador for special duties, Rodion Miroshnik, said in statements to the Russia-24 channel that Russian diplomats will raise the issue of the attack during the UN Security Council meeting.

He explained that Russian diplomats will ask the UN Security Council to meet soon on this issue "so that the global majority in the largest international organization can condemn these actions."

Source: Agencies