A group of men armed with automatic rifles carried out a bloody shootout on Friday in a concert hall on the outskirts of Moscow, where several dozen people died and more than a hundred were injured, an attack that was claimed by the Islamic State.
The Federal Security Service (FSB) preliminarily left the death toll at 40, to which must be added 146 injured, of which about 60 are in serious condition, according to Health.
The attack, which caused great panic in Moscow on a Friday afternoon, is the first serious terrorist attack in this country since the start of the war in Ukraine more than two years ago and the largest perpetrated in the Russian capital in more than of a decade.
A crowded concert hall
The attack occurred at approximately 8:00 p.m. local time (5:00 p.m. GMT) in the run-up to the rock group Piknik’s concert in the concert hall of the Crocus City Hall shopping center in the city of Krasnogorsk, northwest of Moscow.
The security camera images show how at least four men dressed in camouflage clothing, but without balaclavas, begin shooting as soon as they enter the glass-enclosed shopping center, where some of the biggest music stars have performed since. 2009.
One of the attackers reloads his automatic rifle and continues shooting at anyone in his path.
In videos posted by eyewitnesses on social media, the bodies of victims can be seen lying on the ground in a pool of blood.
Meanwhile, concertgoers fled in terror and hid from the attackers in the basement, the roof and even in the ventilation system.
The Telegram channels specify that up to 6,200 people could have been in the concert hall at the time of the attack, since all the tickets were sold.
The shooting was followed by several firebomb explosions, which caused a large fire, making it difficult for concertgoers to evacuate.
The fire services, who rescued more than a hundred people from the roof of the building, are still trying to extinguish the fire that caused part of the roof to collapse with the help of helicopters.
The Islamic State claims, Ukraine denies all responsibility
The jihadist group Islamic State claimed responsibility for the shooting, according to the Amaq agency, its propaganda organ.
“Islamic State fighters attacked a large gathering of Christians in the city of Krasnogorsk, on the outskirts of the Russian capital, Moscow, killing and wounding hundreds of people and causing widespread destruction there before retreating to their bases. safely,” he reported on his Telegram channel.
Russia, which managed to liquidate the Islamist guerrillas in the Caucasus many years ago, has begun the search and capture of the terrorists, according to the National Guard.
Meanwhile, Mijailo Podoliak, advisor to the Ukrainian president, assured that his country “has nothing to do with the shooting or the explosions” in Moscow.
Putin ignored warnings from the West
The Western Embassies in Russia had warned a week before the presidential elections of March 15-17 about possible terrorist attacks in this country, warnings that the president, Vladimir Putin, considered “open blackmail and an attempt to intimidate and destabilize our society.” ».
The first legation to issue an alert was that of the United States, which on its website warned that extremist groups had “imminent plans to attack” large gatherings of people.
Meanwhile, the mayor of Moscow, Sergei Sobyanin, decided on Friday to cancel all cultural, sports and leisure activities planned for the weekend. It was immediately joined by the Bolshoi Theater, which canceled performances on Saturday and Sunday.
In addition, the authorities tightened security measures at the main communications nodes and at the capital’s airports, in anticipation of possible attacks.
Russia demands international condemnation
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on the international community to firmly condemn the “bloody attack” that has occurred “before the eyes of all humanity.”
“The entire international community is obliged to condemn this horrible crime,” said María Zajárova, the Foreign Affairs spokesperson, on her Telegram channel.
Despite the current antagonism over the war, the United States and the UN expressed their “dismay” at the terrorist attack, which was also condemned by the European Union.
The discordant note was set by the Ukrainian military intelligence (GUR), which attributed the massacre to an “operation planned by the Kremlin’s special services”, a “pretext” to intensify the aggression against Ukraine and justify a new mobilization of reservists in Russia. EFE