Russia apprehended 11 individuals, including four directly implicated in the massacre, in connection with the attack that resulted in the deaths of at least 143 people at Crocus City Hall concert hall near Moscow.
The Islamic State terrorist group claimed responsibility for yesterday’s attack, the deadliest in Russia in 20 years. However, there are indications that Russia is probing a potential connection with Ukraine, despite an announcement by Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky’s advisor Mykhailo Podolyak asserting that Kyiv is not involved.
The FSB security service stated that “all four terrorists” were apprehended while en route to the Ukrainian border and that they had connections in Ukraine. He said they were being transferred to Moscow.
“We now know in which country these bloodthirsty bastards were planning to hide from the manhunt in Ukraine,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told Telegram.
Russian state television journalist Margarita Simonyan posted a video of one of the suspects, a young man with a beard, being interrogated on the side of a road. She mentioned that the death toll had increased to 143, without specifying the source of this information.
Russia’s Investigative Committee reported that at least 115 people were killed in the attack, where gunmen wearing camouflage uniforms opened fire with automatic rifles on spectators at Crocus City Hall near the Russian capital.
He noted that some individuals succumbed to gunshot wounds, while others perished in a massive fire that erupted within the complex. Reports indicate that the gunmen ignited the fire using oil from containers carried in backpacks.
People began fleeing in panic. The news outlet Baza, which has contacts within Russian security and law enforcement agencies, reported that 28 bodies were discovered in a toilet, while 14 were found on the stairs. “Many mothers were found embracing their children,” it reported.
The Kremlin stated that FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov informed President Putin that “four terrorists” were among those detained and that his agency was actively working to identify their accomplices.
Russian MP Alexander Khinshtein stated that the perpetrators escaped in a Renault-branded vehicle, which police located in the Bryansk region, approximately 340 kilometers southwest of Moscow last night. The drivers reportedly ignored instructions to stop.
He said two individuals were apprehended after a pursuit, while the other two fled into the woods The Kremlin’s report suggests that both fugitives were later detained.
Khinshtein mentioned that a revolver, a firearm magazine, and Tajikistani passports were discovered in the vehicle.
Source: ANA-MPA / Translated by Thanos Chrysanthopoulos
