Friday, April 05, 2024

US bears some responsibility for Moscow concert attack, claims Russia, ‘everyone knows that the Kyiv is…’

By HT News Desk
Apr 04, 2024

The head of Russia's national security council on Wednesday contended that the US shares blame for the attack by gunmen on a Moscow concert hall

The United States bears some responsibility for the attack on a Moscow concert hall last month, which killed 144 people, claims Nikolai Patrushev, the head of Russia's National Security Council. Russia's blatant verbal attack comes despite ISIS Khorasan, an affiliate of the Islamic State, has admitted to orchestrating the attack, while Ukraine has consistently denied any involvement..

 Flowers and toys are placed on the roadside in front of the burnt-out Crocus City Hall following a deadly attack on the concert venue on the outskirts of Moscow, Russia, March 26, 2024. 
REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/

The assault, which occurred on March 22 at Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk, marked the deadliest attack in Russia in over 20 years. Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, have consistently asserted, without presenting evidence, that Ukraine orchestrated the attack.
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Speaking at a meeting in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)—a nine-country alliance focused on security and economic matters that includes China, India, and Iran—Patrushev stated, "They are trying to impose on us that the terrorist act was committed not by the Kyiv regime, but by supporters of radical Islamic ideology, perhaps members of the Afghan branch of IS."

He continued, "However, it is much more important to quickly establish who is the customer and sponsor of this monstrous crime. Its traces lead to the Ukrainian special services. But everyone knows that the Kyiv regime is not independent and is completely controlled by the United States."

Four suspects allegedly involved in the attack were apprehended the day following the incident in the Bryansk region, which shares a border with Ukraine. Putin and other Russian officials claim that the gunmen had planned to flee to Ukraine. Additionally, six other suspected accomplices have been detained.

Two weeks prior to the attack, the United States Embassy in Russia issued a warning to the Kremlin, sharing intelligence about potential terrorist attacks in Russia. The U.S. State Department confirmed that this information was passed on to Russian officials.

When questioned about a report from the Washington Post suggesting that U.S. officials had specifically identified Crocus City Hall as a potential target, Putin's spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, declined to comment during a conference call, stating it was a matter for security services.

Furthermore, the Russian prosecutor-general's office has reportedly sent information requests to the U.S., Germany, France, and Cyprus regarding potential Western involvement in terrorist attacks on Russia, according to state news agency Tass.

Russia can't be target for Islamic fundamentalists, Putin says


Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during an extended meeting of the Interior Ministry board in Moscow, Russia, April 2, 2024.
 Sputnik/Pavel Bednyakov/Kremlin via REUTERS/ File photo

APR 04, 2024


MOSCOW - Russia cannot be a target for Islamic fundamentalists, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday, nearly two weeks after at least 144 people were killed near Moscow in a mass shooting that was claimed by Islamic State militants.

"We have every reason to believe that the main goal of those who ordered the bloody, awful terrorist act in Moscow was to damage our unity," Putin said in televised comments.

"There are no other goals visible, there are none, because Russia cannot be the target of terrorist attacks by Islamic fundamentalists. We are a country that demonstrates a unique example of interfaith harmony and unity, of inter-religious and inter-ethnic unity."

Russia has repeatedly said the attack was ordered by Ukraine, while not providing evidence to back that assertion. Ukraine has denied involvement and the United States - which warned Russia beforehand of an impending attack by Islamist militants - has said Moscow's version is nonsense. 

REUTERS

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