A ISIS terrorist attack on Crocus City Hall, a popular concert hall on the outskirts of Moscow, left dozens dead – 133, according to the latest estimates – and at least 145 injured after at least five heavily armed men entered the building and began shooting at those inside, as hundreds of people were attending a concert by Russian rock band Piknik.
Media in Russia reported that the assailants also used explosives, setting off a massive fire in the building visible from several kilometres away, as shown in several videos posted on social media. The fire, which cause the partial collapse of the building roof, could be extinguished only after 6 hours.
In other videos, the hall where the concert was being held appeared crowded with people who quickly panicked when the first shots were heard. Some much harsher images showed the terrorists firing indiscriminately and at point-blank range at those trying to flee, crowding into stairwells or doorways.
Hours later, the ISIS terrorist group claimed responsibility for which is considered as the worst terror attack in Russia of the last decades, in a brief statement posted by its Amaq news agency on Telegram, but without providing further evidence. Earlier, some Russian media had attempted to link the attack to the war in Ukraine.
Only days ago, the US embassy in Russia had warned its citizens of an imminent threat in Moscow of a likely terrorist attack by jihadist-linked “extremists”. The attack by ISIS comes just days after Putin won another victory in an unopposed presidential election in which he won 87% of the vote, keeping him in power until 2030. The Russian authorities have so far announced the arrest of a dozen suspects, including several of the assailants.
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Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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