Moscow Concert Attack: On Friday night, Moscow experienced one of its deadliest terror attacks as gunmen opened fire inside a concert hall. The horrifying incident resulted in the loss of at least 60 lives, with over 100 individuals sustaining injuries. Reports indicate that the attack occurred just before the scheduled start of a concert by Piknic in Moscow, with automatic gunfire creating chaos and panic among attendees. Many sought refuge behind seats or rushed to basement or rooftop exits to evade the assailants. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the heinous act, as confirmed by a statement released by the ISIS-affiliated news agency Amaq on Telegram.
Below are 10 updates on the significant Moscow concert attack:
- On Friday, a group of armed individuals fired upon a crowd at Crocus City Hall in Moscow. The assailants, clad in camouflage attire, entered the premises, commenced gunfire, and hurled a grenade or incendiary device.
- The TASS news agency reported that special police forces from SOBR and the anti-riot squad OMON were dispatched to Crocus Hall. Approximately 100 individuals, including members of the rock band (Picnic), were evacuated from the basement of the Moscow concert hall building following the attack.
- The Russian Foreign Ministry stated on Telegram, “The global community must denounce this abhorrent crime!”
- The US administration condemned the attack as “terrible” but stated there was no immediate indication of any connection to the war in Ukraine. The US embassy had warned two weeks prior to the attack about the risk of “extremists” targeting large gatherings in Moscow, including concerts.
- A spokesman for the bloc expressed that the EU is shocked and appalled by the reports of a terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall in Moscow.
- “The images from Moscow tonight are horrifying. Our thoughts are with the victims, the injured, and the Russian people,” stated the French foreign ministry on X.
- On Friday, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak stated that Kyiv had no involvement in the attack by gunmen at a Moscow concert hall. “We are engaged in a full-scale war with the Russian regular army and the Russian Federation as a nation. Regardless of everything, the outcome will be determined on the battlefield,” said the Ukrainian presidential adviser.
- The assault occurred mere days after President Vladimir Putin solidified his control over the nation through a meticulously orchestrated electoral victory.
- On March 3, Russian authorities declared that six suspected Islamic State fighters had been eliminated in a military operation in Ingushetia, a small republic with a Muslim-majority population located in the Caucasus region.
- Russia experienced a wave of deadly terror attacks in the early 2000s amidst conflict with separatists in the Chechen province. In October 2002, militants from Chechnya seized approximately 800 hostages at a theater in Moscow. Two days later, Russian special forces launched a rescue operation, resulting in the deaths of 129 hostages and 41 Chechen fighters. Many casualties were attributed to the narcotic gas used by Russian forces to incapacitate the attackers.