Russia Says 4 Foreign Suspects Detained As Death Toll From Concert Attack Reaches 133

Rescuers pulled more bodies from the rubble of a Moscow-area concert venue on March 23 as the toll from a deadly attack claimed by the Islamic State (IS) militant group reached 133 and security officials said four suspected gunmen had been detained in connection with Russia’s worst terrorist violence in nearly two decades.

Russian officials said the suspects were all foreign nationals and that 11 people, in all, had been detained.

President Vladimir Putin condemned it as a “bloody, barbaric terrorist attack” and said in a recorded video address released by the Kremlin that “the main thing now is to prevent those who are behind this bloodbath from committing a new crime."

Later, after U.S. officials repeatedly condemned it as a "heinous" attack, the White House called Islamic State a "common terrorist enemy."

The day after camouflaged gunmen burst into the Crocus City Hall and opened fire on people waiting for a concert to begin, searchers were still looking for victims in the wreckage of the hall. More than 120 people were wounded and remained hospitalized in various conditions, health officials said.

The Emergency Situations Ministry published the names of 29 of the 133 people known so far to have died, and Moscow region Governor Andrei Vorobyov has warned the death toll could still rise "significantly."

Hundreds of mourners solemnly heaped flowers, stuffed animals, and messages of grief or defiance on the pavement just outside the Crocus City Hall building.

More makeshift memorials to honor the victims sprang up in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, and many other Russian cities, including flowers, candles, and messages to the families of victims. Flags flew at half-mast above government buildings in some places.

At the hollowed-out site of one of the deadliest acts of terror in modern Russian history, School No. 1 in Beslan, in southern Russia, where 333 people including mostly schoolchildren were killed after being taken hostage for three days in 2004, Russians spelled out "Moscow we mourn" with candles.

Some pro-Putin officials have already raised the topic of reinstating capital punishment in response to the attacks.

The chairman of the constitutional law committee in Russia's upper house, Andrei Klishas, spurred more such talk on Telegram by saying that neither chamber of parliament can "overcome decisions of the Constitutional Court."

The death penalty remains in the Russian Constitution but has been under an indefinite moratorium for nearly three decades, including since the Constitutional Court in 2009 effectively banned lower courts from ordering executions.

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In his recorded address, Putin also echoed earlier suggestions by other Russian officials of Ukrainian involvement, saying the four suspected gunmen "tried to hide and were moving toward Ukraine, where, according to preliminary information, the Ukrainian side had prepared a window for them to cross the border."

Putin provided no evidence to back up the claim.

Ukrainian officials have repeatedly denied any involvement.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Putin of trying to "blame someone else." Alluding to previous violent incidents in Russia, he said, "It already happened. And there were blown up houses, and shootings, and explosions. And they always blame others."

The Islamic State (IS) militant group issued a statement of responsibility not long after the attack and on March 23 published pixelated photos of four men it claimed were the attackers.

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The group said they had dealt a "heavy blow" with assault rifles and explosives by targeting "Christians" as part of a "raging war" against countries fighting Islam.

"The attack was carried out by four IS fighters armed with machine guns, a pistol, knives, and firebombs," IS said via Telegram.

The hall is a popular concert venue in a high-end district on the edge of Moscow that attracts major Russian musical acts.

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The deaths were caused by either gunshot wounds or asphyxiation apparently from burning materials, said the Investigative Committee, adding that the toll was likely climb. Attackers used an unspecified flammable substance to set fire to the venue the committee said.

The Russian Investigative Committee said it was awarding one man for "unparalleled courage" when he "selflessly neutralized one of the terrorists" while trying to protect his wife, "saving the lives of the people around him." It did not further identify the man.

The identities and motives of the attackers remained unclear. Aleksandr Bortnikov, the director of the Federal Security Service, or FSB, was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying 11 people had been detained, including four of the suspected gunmen.

Later, the Russian Interior Ministry said the Crocus attackers were foreign nationals.

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Unnamed officials and Telegram channels known for links to security services suggested that several of the attackers may have been Tajik, or Russian citizens with Tajik background. The reports prompted pushback from Tajikistan’s Foreign Ministry, which denied the reports and published detailed information on several of the men whose names were circulating.

Russia's state broadcaster Channel One TV showed footage of the questioning of four men it said were suspects and a white Renault automobile that they were said to have used in their escape effort. The daylight video followed their capture in Khatsun, the station said.

The attack began around 7:30 p.m. local time when camouflaged men armed with automatic rifles arrived at the venue in a minivan. As many as five men were involved, Russian media reported.

One man who escaped from the attack told Current Time that the shooting started just moments before the concert was supposed to begin.

“It was supposed to be starting when we heard something which I thought were fireworks or gunshots inside the venue,” the eyewitness, identified only as Dave, said in a phone interview. “The moment after, we saw beneath us a stream of people running inside the hall. After that, gunshots were already heard inside [the hall]. Of course, panic started on the balcony too. People didn't know where to run."

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Hours after the incident began, Telegram channels affiliated with Islamic State said the attackers had "retreated to their bases safely," though that claim could not be independently confirmed.

U.S. officials confirmed the authenticity of the IS claim in comments to multiple U.S. media.

On March 7, the U.S. Embassy in Moscow had warned Russia that "extremists" had imminent plans for an attack in the capital.

On the same day as the U.S. Embassy announcement, the Federal Security Service claimed it had stopped an attack on a Moscow synagogue by Islamic State's affiliate in Afghanistan, known as Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K).

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed "our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of those killed and all affected by this heinous crime" and said, "We condemn terrorism in all its forms and stand in solidarity with the people of Russia in grieving the loss of life from this horrific event."

On March 23, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told the Suddeutsche Zeitung newspaper that "According to everything that is known so far, it can be assumed that the terrorist group Islamic State Khorasan Province (IS-K) is responsible for the murderous terrorist attack near Moscow."

World leaders also condemned the attack.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was quoted as saying that he "condemns in the strongest possible terms" the incident, and the United States, France, Turkey, Italy, the European Union, and other leaders also issued statements, deploring the violence.

The attack was the worst in Russia since 2004, when gunmen seized more than 1,000 hostages at the school in Beslan and 333 people ultimately died, nearly half of them children.

With reporting by RFE/RL’s Tajik Service and Reuters, AFP, and dpa