Efforts to search for and rescue injured people after the attack that targeted the Crocus City Hall concert hall near Moscow (Reuters)

The head of the Russian Federal Security Service said on Tuesday that Western and Ukrainian intelligence services helped the perpetrators of the attack on a music hall in Moscow last week, which left about 139 people dead.

Russian news agencies quoted Alexander Bortnikov as saying: “We believe that the action was prepared by Islamic extremists and of course was facilitated by Western intelligence services, and Ukrainian intelligence itself has a direct connection to the matter.”

The Russian Investigative Committee announced that the death toll from the attack that took place on Friday at the Crocus City Hall concert hall near Moscow had risen to 139, including 3 children, while 182 people were injured. Russia declared on Sunday a national mourning for the victims of the attack.

The Russian Federal Security Service reported in a statement the arrest of 11 people, including 4 directly involved in the attack, indicating that efforts are continuing to identify their “accomplices.”

Scenes circulating on social media showed that the attackers opened fire randomly in the hall, and a fire broke out in the roof of the building, which led to its collapse later.

Ukrainian denial

Ukraine denied Russian accusations of involvement in the attack, for which ISIS claimed responsibility.

Western countries said that their intelligence information indicates that the "Islamic State - Khorasan Province", the Afghan branch of the Islamic State, is responsible for the attack.

But Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova questioned US assertions that ISIS was the one who carried out the operation, as she said in an article for the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper, “A question for the White House: Are you sure it is ISIS? Can you think about it again?” ?

She added that the United States is using the "scarecrow" of ISIS to cover up its actions in Kiev, and reminded readers that Washington supported the "mujahideen" who fought against Soviet forces in the 1980s.

Source: Agencies