A Russian law enforcement officer walks at a parking area near the burning Crocus City Hall concert venue following a shooting incident, outside Moscow, Russia, March 22, 2024. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
MOSCOW, Russia (Reuters): Russia's Investigative Committee says that more than 60 people were killed on Friday when camouflage-clad gunmen opened fire on concertgoers near Moscow, with Islamic State claiming responsibility for what was one of the deadliest attacks on Russia in decades.
Several gunmen began shooting civilians who were cowering in the Crocus City Hall just before Soviet-era rock group "Picnic" was about to perform to a full house at the 6,200-seat theatre in a suburb west of Moscow.
Verified video showed people taking their seats in the hall then rushing for the exits as repeated gunfire echoed above screams. Other video showed men shooting at groups of people. Some victims lay motionless in pools of blood.
"Suddenly there were bangs behind us – shots. A burst of firing – I do not know what," one witness, who asked not to be identified by name, told Reuters.
"A stampede began. Everyone ran to the escalator," the witness said. "Everyone was screaming; everyone was running."
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, said about 40 people were killed, while a regional ministry said 145 were wounded. The FSB said extra security measures were imposed.
The death toll, which looked set to rise according to unconfirmed reports, made it one of the worst attacks on Russia since the 2004 Beslan school siege, when Islamist militants took more than 1,000 people, including hundreds of children, hostage.
Children were reported to be among the dead and injured at the Crocus concert. Dozens of ambulances arrived at the Sklifosovsky emergency care institute in Moscow.
Islamic State claims responsibility
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.
A grainy picture was published by some Russian media of two of the alleged attackers in a white car. Some Russian media said the gunmen were still at large.
Islamic State said 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.
The attack on Crocus City Hall, about 20km from the Kremlin, comes just two weeks after the US embassy in Russia warned that "extremists" had imminent plans for an attack in Moscow.
Hours before the embassy warning, the FSB said it had foiled an attack on a Moscow synagogue by the Afghan arm of Islamic State, which is known as Isis-Khorasan, or Isis-K, and seeks a caliphate across Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Iran.
The United States has intelligence confirming Islamic State's claim of responsibility for the shooting, a US official said on Friday. The official said Washington had warned Moscow in recent weeks of the possibility of an attack.
Russian President Vladimir Putin changed the course of the Syrian civil war by intervening in 2015, supporting President Bashar al-Assad against the opposition and Islamic State.
"Isis-K has been fixated on Russia for the past two years, frequently criticizing Putin in its propaganda," said Colin Clarke, with the Soufan Center. 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.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said it was a "bloody terrorist attack" that the entire world should condemn.
The United States, European and Arab powers and many former Soviet republics expressed shock, condemned the attack and sent their condolences. Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak denied any Ukrainian involvement.
The United Nations Security Council condemned what it called a "heinous and cowardly terrorist attack."
Security tightened
Russia tightened security at airports, transport hubs and across the capital – a vast urban area of over 21 million people. All large-scale public events were cancelled across the country.
Putin, who was on Sunday re-elected for a new six-year term, sent thousands of troops into Ukraine in 2022 and has repeatedly warned that various powers – including countries in the West – are seeking to sow chaos inside Russia.
Putin was informed in the first minutes of the attack and is regularly being updated, the Kremlin said.
"The president constantly receives information about what is happening and about the measures being taken through all relevant services. The head of state gave all the necessary instructions," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
At Crocus City Hall, flames leapt into the sky, and plumes of black smoke rose above the venue as hundreds of blue lights from emergency vehicles flashed in the night.
Helicopters sought to douse flames that engulfed the large building. The roof of the venue was collapsing, state news agency RIA said.
"A terrible tragedy occurred in the shopping centre Crocus City today," Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said. "I am sorry for the loved ones of the victims." – Reuters
(Reporting by Reuters reporters in Moscow, Tbilisi, London, Cairo and Washington; Writing by Guy Faulconbridge in Moscow and Andrew Osborn and Maxim Rodionov in London; Editing by Timothy Heritage, Cynthia Osterman and Rosalba O'Brien)
