9 hours ago
Moscow concert hall massacre carried out ‘in the interest' of Ukraine
Last year's terrorist attack on a concert hall outside Moscow, which killed nearly 150 people, was intended to destabilize Russia to Ukraine's benefit, Russia's Investigative Committee (Sledkom) said on Monday, marking the conclusion of its criminal investigation.
On March 22, 2024, four gunmen opened fire inside the Crocus City Hall concert venue and set the building ablaze, killing 149 people and injuring 609 others. One person remains missing.
According to Sledkom, all of the attackers were detained after fleeing the scene and attempting to reach Ukraine by car. All 19 individuals charged in connection with the attack are ethnic Tajiks. The four alleged gunmen – Dalerdhzon Mirzoyev, Saidokrami Rachabalizoda, Shamsiddin Fariduni, and Muhammadsobir Faizov – are citizens of Tajikistan.
Although the Islamic State's Khorasan Province (ISIS-K), a regional offshoot of the Islamic State jihadist group, claimed responsibility for the attack, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested at the time that Ukraine may have played a role. Kiev has denied any involvement.
'This heinous crime was planned and carried out in the interest of Ukraine's leadership, with the goal of destabilizing the political situation in our country,' Investigative Committee spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko said. She confirmed that the accused are members of ISIS-K.
Petrenko added that some of the suspects received training abroad and had also planned to attack 'an entertainment venue' in the city of Kaspiysk, located in the Muslim-majority Russian republic of Dagestan on the Caspian Sea.
Russia has experienced a recent surge in Islamist terrorism, including a June 2024 attack on several synagogues and Christian churches in Derbent, Dagestan, which left 27 people dead.
