RUSSIA OBSERVES DAY OF MOURNING AS PUTIN VOWS REVENGE FOR ‘BARBARIC ACT’

A spontaneous memorial appeared near Crocus City Hall, where the terrorist attack took place the day before. Photo: Ivan MAKEEV

Sun 24 March 2024:

More than 130 people have been killed, including three children, and over 100 others have been injured, in the worst such attack that Russia has witnessed in two decades.

ISIL’s Afghanistan arm — also known as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province, ISKP (ISIS-K) – swiftly claimed responsibility, but no evidence provide. The United States has said that its intelligence suggests the claim is accurate.

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The attackers reportedly used explosives as well, setting off a big fire at the Crocus City Hall on the western outskirts of Moscow on Friday, according to Russian news reports.

Several of the… pic.twitter.com/tY0Xtx9TYQ

— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) March 22, 2024

Governor of the Moscow Region Andrei Vorobyov says the rescue operation has been completed and the search operation is still ongoing.

“Rescuers have cleared a huge layer of the auditorium,” Vorobiev wrote in his Telegram channel.

“Identification by relatives is ahead. In hospitals, doctors are fighting for the lives of 107 people,” he said.

“At night we will begin to create an opening on the western side of the Crocus, this will make it easier to access the concert hall,” he added.

Russian media chief publishes unconfirmed video of suspect’s interrogation

Margarita Simonyan, head of the Russian state-controlled RT news outlet, has published a three-minute video on Telegram that purportedly shows one of the Moscow attack suspects being interrogated.

The… pic.twitter.com/iq32WdCfWT

— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) March 23, 2024

Al Jazeera’s Yulia Shapavalova, reporting from outside the concert hall, says people have been bringing flowers, candles and posters to the scene of the attack, mourning those who were killed.

“We can see flags raised to half-staff on the Russian house of parliament and other buildings. People are shocked, they’re grieving… there are numerous memorials throughout Russia,” she said.

“The clearance of the rubble continues with rescue dogs looking for people under the rubble… the death toll could rise. Today, the whole day is to be devoted to search and rescue, after which the main part of the operation will mostly be completed.”

Shapavalova said “Moscow’s Basmanny court is preparing for a large-scale trial in the near future”, adding that the attackers may be brought there, according to sources.

Russian Investigative Committee has released footage of its officers inspecting weapons found at Crocus City Hall following the mass shooting.

Margarita Simonyan, head of the Russian state-controlled RT news outlet, has reported the death toll from the Moscow attack as reaching… pic.twitter.com/R6Oe4TO03z

— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) March 23, 2024

Any US attempt to justify Kyiv until probe ends should be considered as evidence: Zakharova

Any statement made from US authorities to justify Kyiv until the end of the probe into the attack should be considered as evidence, according to Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova.

“Over the decades, the political elites of the United States have learnt how to skillfully divert attention from high-profile crimes and all sorts of staging,” she said on Telegram.

“Therefore, until the investigation into the terrorist attack in the Crocus City Hall is completed, any phrase from Washington justifying Kyiv should be considered as evidence.”

She added that financing of “terrorist activities of the Kyiv organised crime group by American liberal democrats and participation in the corruption schemes of the Biden family have been going on for many years”.

The owner of the destroyed concert hall has said it will restore the building.

All that was left after Friday evening’s attack were the charred iron support beams and the steel frames of hundreds of seats.

The centre, with a capacity of more than 6,000, was built by billionaire Aras Agalarov’s Crocus Group in 2009. It is part of a sprawling complex of shopping malls, restaurants and hotels on the western edge of the capital, just outside Moscow’s ring road.

“We will never forget those who fell victim to terrorists. What was destroyed by their dirty hands will be restored,” Crocus Group said in a statement.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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