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Post by Newsman on Mar 22, 2024 15:07:35 GMT -5
 ....Moscow authorities are reporting a major terrorist incident at this time...(The Guardian) 2:18pm Summary-Moscow has suffered a major terrorist attack after several gunmen dressed in camouflage fired on people at the Crocus City Hall music venue on the outskirts of the city on Friday evening. Here is what we know so far: *Between two and five gunmen were involved in the attack, Russian media reports. Footage showed people being shot in the foyer in a rampage-style atrocity. *The attackers also used explosives that started a large fire, state media reported. The fire has engulfed a third of the concert venue building and the roof of the building is almost completely engulfed in flames, Tass reported. Large plumes of smoke could be seen billowing into the sky. *Early reports put the death toll at 14. *Video footage published on Russian social media channels showed a large crowd of concertgoers attempting to flee the hall as numerous loud gunshots could be heard. *Special units of Russia’s national guard have arrived on the scene and more than 50 ambulance crews have been sent. |
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Post by Newsman on Mar 22, 2024 15:36:14 GMT -5
(The Guardian) The attacks come just days after the US embassy in Russia issued a security alert to US citizens. The embassy also said that it is “monitoring reports that extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow, to include concerts”. Actions that US citizens have been encouraged to take include avoiding large crowds, monitoring local media for updates and being aware of surroundings. The embassy has also listed the following contact details for assistance: --US embassy Moscow, Russian Federation --US citizens with emergencies, please call +7 (495) 728-5577 --Outside of office hours, contact +7 (495) 728-5000 --For routine American Citizen Services questions, please email: MoscowACS@state.govU.S. Embassy Russia website --Department of State – Consular Affairs 888-407-4747 or 202-501-4444
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Post by Newsman on Mar 22, 2024 15:37:12 GMT -5
(The Guardian) 2:44pm SummaryHere are the latest updates coming through Reuters on the attacks: --A second blast was reported at Crocus City Hall near Moscow, IFX reports. --Moscow has cancelled all the weekend’s mass gatherings, according to its mayor. --The first wounded victims are already in hospitals across Moscow, IFX reports. --Security measures have been strengthened at Moscow railway stations, TASS reports.
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Post by Newsman on Mar 22, 2024 15:38:03 GMT -5
(The Guardian) John Kirby, the White House national security spokesperson, told reporters: There’s no indication at this time that Ukraine, or Ukrainians were involved in the shooting … We’re taking a look at it, but I would disabuse you at this early hour of any connection to Ukraine.”In response to whether this is a sign of cracks in Vladimir Putin’s regime, Kirby said: There are people in Moscow and in Russia that object to the way Mr Putin is governing the country, but I don’t think we, at this early hour, can make a link between the shopping mall attack and political motivations. I think … we just need more time and we need to learn more information.”
Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, has called on the international community to condemn the “monstrous crime” following the gun attacks at a concert hall near Moscow, Reuters reports. Meanwhile, the Chechen leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, has issued a statement on the attacks, saying: “I strongly condemn such acts of violence, brutality and recklessness against civilians.”
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Post by Webster on Mar 22, 2024 15:39:06 GMT -5
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Post by Webster on Mar 22, 2024 15:41:15 GMT -5
 A Russian Rosguardia (National Guard) serviceman secures an area as a massive blaze is seen over the Crocus City Hall venue. Photograph: AP  Police block the road to the Crocus City Hall venue on the western edge of Moscow. Photograph: Dmitry Serebryakov/AP |
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Post by Webster on Mar 22, 2024 16:22:16 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Putin receiving regular updates on attack, says KremlinThe Kremlin has said that Russia’s president Vladimir Putin is receiving regular updates about the shooting at the Crocus City Hall concert hall. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, in a statement carried by Russia’s Tass state news agency, said: In the first minutes of the incident at the Crocus City Hall, the president was informed about the start of the shooting. The president is constantly supplied by all relevant services with information about what is happening and the measures being taken. The president has already given all the necessary instructions.
Search for concert hall attackers ongoing - reportsThe Russian national guard is searching for those who attacked the Crocus City Hall concert centre near Moscow, Russian news agencies are reporting.
Children among those injured in shooting - reportChildren are among those injured in the shooting incident and fire at the Crocus City Hall concert centre, Russia’s state-owned Ria news agency is reporting. Andrey Vorobyov, the governor of Moscow oblast, has posted to his Telegram account that five people are in serious condition.
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Post by Webster on Mar 22, 2024 16:23:21 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Here is some background coming from the Associated Press on previous terrorist attacks in Russia: Russia was shaken by a series of deadly terror attacks in the early 2000s during the fighting with separatists in the Russian province of Chechnya.
In October 2002, Chechen militants took about 800 people hostage at a Moscow theater. Two days later, Russian special forces stormed the building and 129 hostages and 41 Chechen fighters died, most of them from effects of narcotic gas Russian forces used to subdue the attackers. And in September 2004, about 30 Chechen militants seized a school in Beslan in southern Russia taking hundreds of hostages. The siege ended in a bloodbath two days later and more than 330 people, about half of them children, were killed.
The attack took place as crowds gathered for a concert of the Russian rock band, Picnic, at the Crocus City Hall concert centre in the outskirts of Moscow. The band have posted a statement to Instagram to say that they are “alive and safe”, the BBC is reporting, adding: There was a tragedy that took place, the scale of which we can’t yet assess. We are following the news and awaiting official information. The musicians and management are alive and safe.
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Post by Webster on Mar 22, 2024 16:24:27 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Russia cancels all entertainment and mass eventsAll entertainment and mass events in Russia have been cancelled, Russia’s culture ministry has announced.
People injured in the attack on the Crocus City Hall are being hospitalised in medical institutions of the Moscow region, the regional health ministry told state news agency Tass. It cites the ministry as saying: The victims of the terrorist attack are being rushed to hospitals in Krasnogorsk, Khimki and Odintsovo.At least 40 people have been killed and more than 100 wounded, according to reports. Five people are in serious condition, the governor of Moscow oblast has said.
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Post by Webster on Mar 22, 2024 16:30:33 GMT -5
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Post by Webster on Mar 22, 2024 16:34:21 GMT -5
(The Guardian) 4:10pm SummaryDozens of people have reportedly been killed and more than 100 wounded in an attack at a concert venue near Moscow. Here is what we know about the shooting so far: --Unidentified gunmen opened fire at the Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk near Moscow on Friday evening during a sold-out concert by the Russian rock group Piknik. Crocus City Hall is one of the largest and most popular music venues in the Moscow oblast. --Forty people are reported dead and more than 100 wounded after the shooting as of 19.15 GMT, Russian state news agencies said, citing Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). --Up to five gunmen were believed to be involved in the attack. There was no immediate claim of responsibility by any group, but Russian prosecutors described the attack as “an act of terrorism”. --Videos emerged showing gunmen in tactical gear opening fire from automatic weapons as panicked Russians fled for their lives. The attackers also apparently detonated explosives, as the sounds of blasts could be heard in other videos from the attack. --TASS reported that people remained inside the building, which is almost completely engulfed in flames and that others were trapped on the roof. --Speznaz units of Russia’s national guard as well as police and firefighters were at the scene. --Earlier this month, western countries led by the United States had issued terror warnings and told their citizens not to join public gatherings in Russia. On 8 March, the US embassy wrote it was “monitoring reports that extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow, to include concerts, and US citizens should be advised to avoid large gatherings over the next 48 hours”.
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Post by Webster on Mar 22, 2024 16:41:04 GMT -5
(The Guardian) The Russian former president Dmitry Medvedev has released a statement calling for those responsible for the attack to be “found and ruthlessly destroyed”. Medvedev, who is deputy chairman of Russia’s security council, posted to Telegram: Terrorists understand only reciprocal terror. No trials or investigations will help if force is not answered with force, and deaths with total punishment of terrorists and repression of their families. That’s our worldly experience. If it can be established that these terrorists were from the Kyiv regime, it’s impossible to deal with them and those who have been inspired by their ideology any other way. They must all be found and ruthlessly destroyed as terrorists. Including official representatives of the state that committed such an atrocity.
The French foreign ministry has said its thoughts are with the victims of the attack and the Russian people. In a social media post, the ministry said the images coming out of Moscow were “terrible”, adding that “full light must be shed on these heinous acts.”
The Russian rock band Piknik have not been able to contact one of its members since the attack at the Crocus City Hall, where the band were due to play, its managing director has told Russia’s Tass state news agency. Yuri Chernyshevsky told Tass: We can’t contact one [band member], we don’t know if he left Crocus.He did not specify which members of the band he was referring to. As we reported earlier, Piknik have posted to Instagram to say that their musicians and management are “alive and safe”.
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Post by Webster on Mar 22, 2024 16:46:52 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Islamic State claims members escaped after attacking concert hallIslamic State have claimed responsibility for the attack on the Crocus City Hall on the outskirts of Moscow. The full statement posted on its Telegram account reads: 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 and causing great destruction to the place before they withdrew to their bases safely.
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Post by Webster on Mar 22, 2024 16:49:39 GMT -5
(The Guardian) The British embassy in Russia has said it condemns the attack at the Crocus City Hall, calling it a “terrible tragedy”, adding: We express our sincere condolences to the families and friends of those affected and killed by today’s events.
The European Union is “shocked and appalled” by the reports of a terrorist attack in the Crocus City Hall, the bloc’s lead foreign affairs spokesperson Peter Stano has said. Posting to social media, Stano said the EU “condemns any attacks against civilians”.
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Post by Webster on Mar 22, 2024 17:08:39 GMT -5
(The Guardian) The Russian national guard have completed an inspection of the parking lots around the Crocus City Hall and have found no explosives, a Russian MP has said. In a Telegram post, Alexander Khinshtein added that members of the national guard are continuing their checks of the surrounding area.
At least two children have been wounded in the attack at the Crocus City Hall, according to Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Lvova-Belova. Lvova-Belova, in an interview aired by Russia’s state-owned Rossiya-24 channel, said: There are wounded children, not many of them so far. There is a boy with a gunshot wound, but all are in a moderately grave condition so far … There is a boy who was struck with the buttstock of a rifle, in a stable condition.
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