Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the gunmen who carried out the attack on a horror concert hall that killed another 130 people in Moscow last week were “radical Islamists. “
Speaking at an assembly with government officials, Putin said the killings were carried out by extremists “whose ideology the Islamic world has been fighting for centuries. “
Putin, who said over the weekend that the four attackers had been arrested as they tried to flee to Ukraine, mentioned the Islamic State associate who claimed responsibility for the attack.
Friday night’s attack on the municipal corridor of Crocus, a western suburb of Moscow, left 137 people dead and more than 180 wounded, making it the deadliest attack in Russia in years. A total of 97 more people remained hospitalized Monday, the government said.
Putin has avoided mentioning ISIS in his remarks on Monday. He also did not specify who ordered the attack, but said it was mandatory to find out “why the terrorists, after committing their crime, tried to flee to Ukraine and who it was. “waiting for them there. ” Putin added: “We know who carried out the attack. We need to know who ordered it. ” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky furiously denied Moscow’s accusations that Ukraine had a connection to Friday’s attack and accused Putin of employing his own citizens as “consumables. “
U. S. intelligence agencies said they believed ISIS-K, an offshoot of the terror group, was to blame for the attacks, while French President Emmanuel Macron said France had intelligence pointing to “an IS entity” blamed for Moscow’s attack. Earlier on Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to retract blame and urged journalists to wait for the effects of the investigation in Russia. He also declined to comment on reports that the U. S. had warned the Moscow government on March 7 about a possible terrorist attack, saying such data was confidential.
Four men were charged in a Moscow court on Sunday night with wearing themselves down from the terror attack and showed signs of having been severely beaten in their subsequent court appearances. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said the investigation was still ongoing, but vowed that “the perpetrators will be punished. “, they deserve no mercy. ” Former President Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, suggested the government “kill them all. “
After riddling spectators with gunfire, the assailants set fire to the Crocus concert hall, and the resulting fire caused the roof to collapse. The search operation will continue until at least Tuesday afternoon, authorities said. A Russian Orthodox priest held a service on Monday, blessing a makeshift monument with incense.
The four suspects were known in Russian media as citizens of Tajikistan. At least two of the suspects have pleaded guilty, judicial officials said, though their situations raise questions about whether their statements were received under duress. The men were known through the government as 32-year-old Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev, 30-year-old Saidakrami Rachabalizoda, 25-year-old Shamsidin Fariduni, and 19-year-old Mukhammadsobir Faizov. The fees carry a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Russia’s Federal Security Service said seven other suspects had been detained. Three of them appeared in court on Monday, with no signs of injury, and were taken into custody on terrorism charges.
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