After the terrorist attack near Moscow, which was probably Islamist-motivated, the Russian security authorities are urgently searching for the masterminds. “We know that the crime was committed by radical Islamists,” Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin said in the evening. But now Russia wants to know “who the client is.” In the attack, four men shot at visitors to Crocus City Hall and set the building on fire with gasoline. The death toll rose to 139 by the evening. The clean-up work in the destroyed hall and the search for possible further victims under the rubble should be completed today.
Putin made it clear that several questions now needed to be clarified. “How do radical Islamists, posing as devout Muslims and professing so-called pure Islam, come to commit serious atrocities and crimes during the holy month of Ramadan, which is holy to all Muslims?” Putin asked at the meeting with representatives cited by various authorities. It also remains to be seen “whether radical and terrorist Islamic organizations are really interested in attacking Russia, which today stands for a just solution to the escalating Middle East conflict.”
Islamic State claims responsibility for attack
The terrorist militia Islamic State has already claimed responsibility for the attack several times. Western security authorities and experts believe the confession is credible and suspect the IS offshoot Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISPK) was behind the attack.
With his statement about the perpetrators, Putin deviated from his original line, in which he had suspected a “Ukrainian trace” behind the bloody crime without citing any evidence. Nevertheless, it should be clarified why the terrorists wanted to escape to Ukraine after the bloody act. “And who was expecting them there,” Putin added. The suspected attackers were caught in the Bryansk region, south of Moscow. The White House dismissed statements from the Russian leadership about Ukraine’s alleged involvement in the deadly terrorist attack as “Kremlin propaganda.” John Kirby. The Ukrainian leadership has also strictly rejected the allegations.
Ukrainian head of state Volodymyr Zelenskyj described the Kremlin chief as a “sick and cynical creature” in his daily video address. Everyone is a terrorist except him, even though he has been feeding on terror for two decades.”
Death toll rises to 139
Meanwhile, the number of deaths from the attack rose to 139. Of the more than 180 injured, more than 50 have already been released into home care, said Deputy Prime Minister Tatjana Golikova. 93 people, including five children, are still being treated as inpatients. 75 dead have been identified. Grieving people continued to lay flowers at an improvised memorial site on the fence of the Crocus City site.
After the attack, Russian security forces arrested eleven suspects in the Bryansk region, south of Moscow. Seven of the men, including the four suspected shooters, have now been taken into custody by the Basmanny District Court in Moscow.
The four alleged main perpetrators appeared before the judge on Sunday evening. There were injuries on their bodies that indicated torture by Russian security forces. The former Russian president and current deputy head of the Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, was clear about his ideas about the future of the attackers and those involved. “Kill them? Of course, and that will happen,” he wrote on Telegram. “But what’s more important is to kill everyone involved.” By this he meant clients and helpers. “Kill all.”
