Moscow-massacre
On 22 March 2024, camouflaged gunmen stormed into Crocus City Hall Moscow, opened fire on concert-goers and set the building ablaze, killing at least 139 people.
𝐈𝐒 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲:
The Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISIS-K), has claimed responsibility via its Amaq news agency. The existence of a highly graphic video filmed by attackers, their use of slogans in the video, and its distribution via official IS media channels are consistent with the group’s modus operandi, points BBC.
𝐔𝐒 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐬, 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐚 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬, 𝐔𝐤𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬
Two weeks before the event, the US Intel Agencies had reportedly warned Russia about possible terrorist attacks in public places.
Russian authorities said suspects directly involved in the attack were arrested near the border of Ukraine. It may suit them to put the blame on Ukraine to divert attention away from the security failure as well as to shore up their mobilisation and war efforts. Some deepfakes pointing to possible Ukrainian involvement have been doing rounds.
President Putin now admits “radical Islamists” were behind the attack, but suggests that it is only Ukraine which would benefit from such “scare tactics”. He also referred to the US pushing the narrative that Ukraine had no hand in the attack.
Kyiv has denied any link to last week’s terror attack and accused Putin of using it to justify further aggression on Ukraine.
𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐒-𝐊 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐚?
Russia has been high on the agenda of jihadi outfits since anti-Soviet struggle in Afghanistan in 1980s and the Chechen civil war. Russia supported Assad Regime to brutally suppress IS in Syria.
ISIS-K claims Russian government supports Taliban, a group it opposes. IS has targeted Russia in 2015 and 2018. In Sep 2022. ISIS claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on the Russian Embassy in Kabul. It attacked Kabul Airport during US evacuations.
ISIS-K has been expanding its footprint beyond Af-Pak. It carried out a brutal attack at the beginning of this year at Qasim Soleimani’s memorial in Iran. Terror plots linked to the group have been unearthed in Europe, as per CNN.
US Intel agencies have reportedly been tracking IS and other terrorist outfits.
