Russian concert death toll soars to 115

[Bobby]

Russia arrests suspected gunmen as concert death toll soars to 115

By Guy Faulconbridge and Alexander Marrow
March 23, 202410:33 PM GMT+11Updated 33 min ago

Summary

11 arrested, including four suspected gunmen, Kremlin says
Death toll jumps to 143, TV editor says
FSB says gunmen arrested heading to Ukraine border
Ukraine has denied involvement; Islamic State claims attack

MOSCOW, March 23 (Reuters) - Russia has arrested 11 people including four suspected gunmen in connection with a shooting rampage that killed at least 143 people in a concert hall near Moscow, the Kremlin said on Saturday.
Militant Islamist group Islamic State claimed responsibility for Friday's attack, the deadliest in Russia for 20 years. But there were indications that Russia was pursuing a Ukrainian link, despite a statement from Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak that Kyiv had nothing to do with it.

The FSB security service said "all four terrorists" had been arrested while heading to the Ukrainian border, and that they had contacts in Ukraine. It said they were being transferred to Moscow.

"Now we know in which country these bloody bastards planned to hide from pursuit - Ukraine," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Telegram.

A senior Russian lawmaker, Andrei Kartapolov,
said that if Ukraine was involved, then Russia must deliver a "worthy, clear and concrete" reply on the battlefield.

State TV editor Margarita Simonyan published a video of one of the suspects, a young bearded man, being interrogated by the side of a road. She said the death toll had climbed to 143 but did not give the source of her information.
Russia's Investigative Committee earlier said at least 115 had died in the attack, in which camouflage-clad gunmen opened fire with automatic weapons at concertgoers in the Crocus City Hall near the capital.

[Bobby]

https://www.timesofisrael.com/toll-in-m ... of-a-plot/

Toll in Moscow terror attack up to 115; US intel official:
We warned Russia of a plot
American source tells AP Washington knew of ISIS plans to strike country and
had shared intel; authorities arrest 11 suspects in deadly assault on concert hall

By AP Today, 1:22 pm

MOSCOW — Eleven people have been detained after gunmen stormed a concert hall in Moscow and opened fire on the crowd, the head of Russia’s Federal Security Service told President Vladimir Putin on Saturday, according to Russian state news agency Tass.

Four suspected perpetrators of the deadly attack near Moscow on Friday were heading towards Russia’s border with Ukraine when they were apprehended early on Saturday, and had contacts on the Ukrainian side, the Interfax news agency quoted the FSB security service as saying.

Four of those detained were directly involved in the attack, Tass said.

The FSB said the attack had been carefully planned.

At least 115 people were killed in Friday’s attack, including three children, authorities said.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on affiliated social media channels, although neither the Kremlin nor Russian security services have officially assigned blame for the attack.

[Bobby]

Putin under fire for terror attack in Moscow

[Bobby]

Shooting at Moscow concert venue leaves over 130 dead.

Earlier Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin told the Russian people that the perpetrators had “tried to hide and moved towards Ukraine, where, according to preliminary data, a window was prepared for them on the Ukrainian side to cross the border." A handful of Russian officials have suggested without evidence that Ukraine may have been involved in the attack as well.

Yusov called Putin's comments "completely false and absurd."

"A full-scale war has been going on for more than two years. The border areas are saturated with enemy troops, special agents, and security forces. The border line is heavily mined. It is being monitored by all means, including aerial reconnaissance on both sides," Yusov said. "Such regions as Belgorod and Kursk are now a zone of active hostilities. Of course, this claim does not stand up to criticism."

https://edition.cnn.com/europe/live-new ... index.html

[Jasin]

He plays with the Muslims (Azerbaijan, etc) in alliances, etc - but this is what they do back to him, when they don't get their own way.