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Post by Webster on Mar 22, 2024 17:20:10 GMT -5
(The Guardian) 145 people injured in attack, says Moscow health ministryThe number of people wounded in the attack at the Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk near Moscow has been revised to 145, Russia’s Tass state news agency is reporting, citing figures by Moscow region’s health ministry.
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Post by Webster on Mar 22, 2024 17:21:07 GMT -5
(The Guardian) CNN’s chief national security correspondent writes that sources have revealed that there may have been specific intelligence indicating an imminent attack. Isis-K refers to the Islamic State of Khorasan Province, active in South-Central Asia.
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Post by Webster on Mar 22, 2024 17:38:22 GMT -5
(The Guardian) People at the concert describe a chaotic scene as the attack began. Alexei, a music producer, told the AP he was about to settle into his seat before the concert was to begin, when he heard “several machine gun bursts” and “a lot of screams”. “I realised right away that it was automatic gunfire and understood that most likely it’s the worst: a terrorist attack,” he said . Another witness told Reuters that a stampede began as everyoe rushed away from the gunfire. “A stampede began. Everyone ran to the escalator,” the witness said. “Everyone was screaming; everyone was running.”
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Post by Webster on Mar 22, 2024 17:44:31 GMT -5
Russian Rosguardia (National Guard) servicemen secure an area at the Crocus City Hall. Photograph: Alexander Avilov/AP
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Post by Webster on Mar 22, 2024 17:45:15 GMT -5
(The Guardian) United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned the attack “in the strongest possible terms” a spokesperson said. “The Secretary-General conveys his deep condolences to the bereaved families and the people and the Government of the Russian Federation. He wishes those injured a speedy recovery,” said deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq.
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Post by Webster on Mar 22, 2024 18:03:45 GMT -5
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Post by Webster on Mar 22, 2024 18:15:19 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Russia’s president Vladimir Putin has yet to make a public comment on the attacks. The Kremlin has said he is receiving regular updates.
The death toll has risen to 62, Russia’s Baza news outlet has reported based on preliminary information. The Guardian has not confirmed the number and will be watching for updates from the health ministry.
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Post by Webster on Mar 22, 2024 19:02:58 GMT -5
(The Guardian) The US has intelligence confirming the Islamic State’s claim taking responsibility for the attack, according to Reuters. The agency cites an unnamed US official: The official said the United States had warned Russia in recent weeks about the possibility of an attack. “We did warn the Russians appropriately,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, without providing any additional details.
At least 40 people were killed and 145 wounded on Friday when camouflage-clad gunmen opened fire with automatic weapons on concertgoers near Moscow in one of the deadliest attacks on Russia in decades.
Islamic State, the militant group that once sought control over swathes of Iraq and Syria, claimed responsibility for the attack, the group’s Amaq agency said on Telegram. The death toll made it one of the worst attacks on Russia since the 2004 Beslan school siege, when Islamist militants took more than 1,000 people hostage, including hundreds of children.
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Post by Webster on Mar 22, 2024 19:35:04 GMT -5
(The Guardian) French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the attack on Friday at a concert hall near Moscow, calling it a “terrorist attack”, according to Reuters. Macron, in a statement, said he “firmly condemns this terrorist attack, claimed by the Islamic State”. He said in the statement that France stands in solidarity with the victims of the shooting.
Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said it was a “bloody terrorist attack” that the entire world should condemn, according to AFP. Zakharova wrote on Telegram earlier: The entire world community must condemn this despicable crime!
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Post by Webster on Mar 22, 2024 20:01:39 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Russia’s Investigative Committee said on Saturday that more than 60 people had been killed in an attack on a concert near Moscow, according to Reuters.
Russia’s Tass state news agency is reporting that Putin has wished all those injured in the emergency at Crocus City Hall a recovery and conveyed his gratitude to the doctors. Russia’s health minister, Tatyana Golikova reportedly told Tass of Putin’s remarks, which are the first comments the Russian president has made so far about the terror attack.
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Post by Webster on Mar 22, 2024 20:17:53 GMT -5
(The Guardian) RIA News has shared a full statement from the Russian Investigative Committee regarding updates to the terrorist attack in Crocus: --Investigators, criminologists and experts from the Investigative Committee of Russia, together with the operational units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the FSB, continue investigative actions at the scene of the incident; --the bodies of the dead are being examined. It has been previously established that more than 60 people died as a result of the terrorist attack. Unfortunately, the number of victims may increase; --material evidence, including weapons and ammunition, is confiscated from the crime scene, all necessary examinations are ordered and carried out, including genetic, ballistic, and fingerprint examinations; --CCTV footage is being confiscated and studied.
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Post by Webster on Mar 22, 2024 21:00:01 GMT -5
Investigative Committee of Russia along with the operational units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the FSB, work on actions at the scene after a terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall. Photograph: AP
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Post by Webster on Mar 22, 2024 21:04:29 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Investigations underway at Crocus City HallRussia’s investigative committee has published footage of investigators working at the scene after the terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall, on the western edge of Moscow. The unknown people who carried out the terrorist attack in Crocus were armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles, RIA News is reporting. Why would ISIS be attacking Russia?The attack by ISIS-K in Russia on Friday is being described as a dramatic escalation, according to Reuters. Experts have said the group has opposed Russian president Vladimir Putin in recent years. For some background, Putin changed the course of the Syrian civil war by intervening in 2015, supporting president Bashar al-Assad against the opposition and Islamic State. Colin Clarke of Soufan Center, a Washington-based research group, said: ISIS-K has been fixated on Russia for the past two years, frequently criticizing Putin in its propaganda.ISIS-K, in full is Islamic State Khorasan. The group is named after an old term for the region that included parts of Iran, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan, and emerged in eastern Afghanistan in late 2014, quickly establishing a reputation for extreme brutality, as per Reuters. There is also a Caucasus branch of ISIS. The broader Islamic State group has claimed deadly attacks across the Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Europe, the Philippines and Sri Lanka.
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Post by Webster on Mar 22, 2024 21:05:18 GMT -5
Investigators continuing sorting through evidence at the scene of the Crocus City Hall. Photograph: AP
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Post by Webster on Mar 22, 2024 21:52:53 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Search continues for attackersIt was reported earlier by Reuters that the fate of the attackers was unclear, as firefighters battled the massive blaze at the concert venue, and emergency services evacuated hundreds of people while parts of the venue’s roof collapsed. A grainy picture was published by some Russian media reportedly of two of the alleged attackers in a white car. The search for the attackers reportedly continues but Russian authorities are yet to comment on any developments. Islamic State said earlier that its fighters attacked on the outskirts of Moscow, “killing and wounding hundreds and causing great destruction to the place before they withdrew to their bases safely”. The statement gave no further detail.
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