Concert attack may kill more than 100 people, the man behind it is still suspected

[New Sancai Compilation First] Russia said on March 23 that it had arrested all four gunmen suspected of carrying out a shooting massacre at a concert hall near Moscow on Friday, and Russian President Vladimir Putin promised to track down and punish those behind the attack. Black hands.

The militant Islamist group Islamic State claimed responsibility for Friday's uprising, but there were signs that Russia was seeking links to Ukraine, although Ukrainian officials have firmly denied that Kiev had anything to do with it.

Moscow state television earlier put the death toll at 143, without citing sources.

Putin said in a televised speech that 11 people, including the four gunmen, had been detained. "They tried to hide and go to Ukraine, and according to initial intelligence, there was a window prepared for them on the Ukrainian side to cross the state border," he said.

Russia's FSB security service said the gunman had ties to Ukraine and was captured near the border. It is said that they will be transferred to Moscow.

Neither Putin nor Russia's FSB has publicly provided any evidence of links to Ukraine, with which Russia has been waging war for the past 25 months.

Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman Andrei Yusov told Reuters: "Ukraine is certainly not involved in this terrorist attack. Ukraine is defending its sovereignty against Russian aggressors, liberating its own territories and fighting against the occupiers." Troops fight against military targets rather than civilians."

The Islamic State has a strong incentive to attack Russia, which intervened in Syria's civil war in 2015, and security analysts say the Islamic State's claim appears to be justified because it fits a pattern of past attacks.

Putin called the enemy "international terrorism" and said he was ready to work with any country that wanted to defeat it.

Putin said: "All perpetrators, organizers and those who ordered this crime will be punished justly and inevitably. No matter who they are, no matter who is directing them." "We will identify and punish all those who support Terrorists who planned this atrocity against Russia, against our people."

Western countries, including the United States, which has had tense relations with Moscow since Russia invaded Ukraine, condemned the attack and expressed sympathy for the affected Russian people. Arab countries and many former Soviet republics also expressed shock and condolences.

The White House said the U.S. government shared information with Russia earlier this month about Moscow's planned attacks and issued a public warning to Americans in Russia on March 7.

The Kremlin said Putin had held talks with the leaders of Belarus, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, and all parties confirmed their willingness to jointly fight terrorism.

Russia has stepped up security checks at airports, transport hubs and across the capital, and large public events have been canceled across the country.

The Amaq agency of the "Islamic State" group that has tried to control large areas of Iraq and Syria said on Telegram that the group claimed responsibility for the attack.

A U.S. official said the United States had intelligence that confirmed the Islamic State's claim of responsibility for the shooting. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Washington had "appropriately" warned Moscow of a possible attack in recent weeks.

However, Tony Shaffer, a well-known former U.S. intelligence official, said: "There are many adversaries and groups who have weapons that they can use against Putin and the Russians. So, at this point, we simply do not have enough. Knowledge connects this event to the larger pieces on the chessboard.”

U.S. Air Force Brigadier General Blaine Holt also said: "It is still 'speculation' that the Islamic State organization was behind the concert hall attack." "Some Chechens are opposed to Moscow and are hostile to Russian President Vladimir Putin. was not satisfied with his re-election, and "there are also factors in Ukraine." He added that since Ukraine was engaged in a "full-scale Russian offensive," "it seems that such a thing is not in [Ukraine's] interests."

(Compiled by: Wang Jimin)

(Editor: Jiang Qiming)

(Source of the article: Compiled and published by New Sancai)