As of: March 24, 2024, 4:56 a.m
By: Nils Hinsberger, Bedrettin Bölükbasi
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The attack in a concert hall in Moscow is said to have killed 140 people.
Ukrainian President Zelensky counters Putin's serious accusations.
The news ticker.
After
the Moscow attack
: Faeser warns of the threat of terrorism in Germany
Warnings ignored?: The USA is said to have warned of attacks at the beginning of April
Death toll in Moscow continues to rise
: Federal government condemns the attack
This
news ticker on the suspected terrorist attack in Moscow
is constantly updated.
Update from March 23rd, 10:05 p.m.:
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has rejected allegations from Russia that Ukraine was involved in the alleged terrorist attack in Moscow, reports the
dpa
.
“Of course, after what happened in Moscow yesterday, Putin and the other bastards are just trying to blame someone else,” Zelensky said in his daily video address.
After the attacks in Moscow, Vladimir Putin announced that the perpetrators wanted to flee to Ukraine.
Zelensky rejected this and said that Putin would rather think about “how he can bring this to Ukraine” instead of taking care of Russian citizens.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj (right) denies involvement in the Moscow attack and counters with serious allegations against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
© imago/montage
The Ukrainian President also accused Putin of also spreading terror in his war against Ukraine.
“They have brought hundreds of thousands of their own terrorists here, onto Ukrainian soil, to fight against us, and they don’t care what is happening in their country,” Zelensky said.
Two of the Moscow terror suspects already killed
Update from March 23rd, 9:45 p.m.:
It is reported that two people who were involved in the attack in Moscow have already been killed.
According to
BBC
information, one of the attackers was already killed in the concert hall.
Another is said to have lost his life in the Bryansk region.
The deceased were reportedly citizens of Tajikistan.
A court had ordered one of them to make a “controlled, independent departure” from Russia.
It is believed that this man had already overstayed his 90-day stay in 2018.
Faeser warns of an “acute” threat of terrorism in Germany
Update from March 23rd, 8:30 p.m.:
After the attack in Moscow, Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser also described the terrorist threat in Germany as “acute”.
After assessing the situation, it is plausible for them "that the terrorist group Islamic State Khorasan Province is responsible for the murderous terrorist attack near Moscow," Faeser told the
Süddeutsche Zeitung
.
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The IS offshoot, the ISPK, also poses “the greatest Islamic threat” in Germany.
The historical Khorasan region includes parts of today's Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran.
After the terrorist attack in Moscow, Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) warned of an “acute” terrorist threat in Germany too.
© Jonathan Penschek/dpa/imago/Montage
The increased protective measures at Christmas and New Year's Eve in Cologne would have served to ward off potential attacks by the ISPK.
“The danger from Islamist terrorism remains acute,” said Faeser.
“The Islamist scene is the focus of the BKA, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the state security authorities.”
The Interior Minister clearly condemned the “cowardly and brutal terrorist attack” in Moscow.
She expressed her condolences to the families and relatives of the victims.
Tusk warns of possible escalation of violence due to attack in Moscow
Update from March 23rd, 7:25 p.m.:
Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk has warned against using the attack in Russia as a "pretext for an escalation of violence and aggression."
He also expressed his condolences to the families of the victims of the “terrible tragedy”.
Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, Poland's defense minister, also announced plans to strengthen troops on the country's eastern border, dpa
reported
.
Death toll after attack in Moscow rises to 140
Update from March 23rd, 6:55 p.m.:
According to the Russian Ministry of Health, the number of deaths as a result of the attack on the “Crocus” town hall in Moscow has continued to increase.
According to current reports, 140 people have now died as a result of the suspected terrorist act, according to the Russian news agency
Tass
.
In addition, 105 people are still being treated in hospitals.
“Heinous crime”: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken strongly condemns the terrorist attack on a concert hall in Moscow.
© Vitaly Smolnikov/dpa/imago/Montage
Update from March 23rd, 5:45 p.m.:
The Russian news agency
Ria Novosti
has reported that the United States has strongly condemned the attack in Moscow, in which 130 people are believed to have lost their lives.
Antony Blinken, the secretary of state, expressed his “deepest condolences” to the families and relatives of the victims.
He described the attack as a “heinous crime” and stressed: “We condemn terrorism in all its forms and stand in solidarity with the people.”
Update from March 23rd, 5:00 p.m.:
The four alleged attackers in Moscow are said to have now been identified.
As the Ria Novosti news agency announced on Telegram, all of the suspects were not Russian citizens.
One of the possible perpetrators is said to have communicated in Tajik with the help of an interpreter.
All four were hired for the attack in exchange for money by a previously unknown client, who is said to call himself “the preacher's assistant.”
Moscow is again hit by a terrorist attack.
© Dmitry Serebryakov/dpa
The terrorist suspects were given the target location for their attack by the “Preacher's Assistant”.
Weapons were provided by an “organization,” the post says.
What exactly drove the men to commit the crime has not yet emerged from the interrogations.
One of the men is said to have spoken of a payment of between 500,000 and one million rubles (around 9,975 euros).
The alleged perpetrators also lived together in an apartment in the north of Moscow.
The USA probably warned of a possible terrorist attack at the beginning of March
Update from March 23rd, 3:50 p.m.:
The USA is said to have warned Russia of possible terrorist attacks in Moscow at the beginning of March.
A Russian intelligence source said Russia was aware of the warning, Russian news agency
Tass
reported .
However, the warnings are said to have been “general in nature, without any specification”.
The USA is said to have known about possible actions by the so-called Islamic State in Russia through intelligence information.
Other Western countries also repeated the warnings.
The US Embassy in Moscow warned of possible IS attacks on its website on March 7th.
Update from March 23rd, 3:20 p.m.:
After the terrorist attack in Moscow, the death toll has risen to 133, the Russian news agency
Ria Novosti
reported .
The responsible investigative committee announced this on its Telegram channel.
“During the clearing of rubble at the Crocus City Hall concert hall, the death toll as a result of the terrorist attack rose to 133 people.
Search efforts continue,” the committee wrote in the post.
Putin blames Ukraine for attack in Moscow
Update from March 23rd, 1:40 p.m.:
In his speech after the alleged terrorist attack in Moscow, Russian leader Vladimir Putin also blamed Ukraine for the incident.
“The four terrorists who were directly involved in the attack and were caught wanted to flee to Ukraine,” Putin said, according to Russian state media.
At the same time, he also emphasized that Ukraine wanted to open a “window” for the attackers at the border to escape into Ukrainian territory.
After the attack on an event hall in the Moscow region, the Russian domestic secret service FSB confirmed deaths and injuries, according to the Interfax agency.
© Montage: IMAGO / Russian Look, IMAGO / SNA
“We will identify and punish everyone involved,” announced the Kremlin chief, saying the aim was to prevent the attackers’ “backers” from carrying out further such attacks.
“The organizers of the terrorist attack, like the Nazis, resorted to tactics of show execution and intimidation,” Putin also said.
After the attack in Moscow: Putin speaks of a “bloody terrorist attack”
Update from March 23rd, 1:35 p.m.:
After the suspected terrorist attack in Moscow, Russian leader Vladimir Putin addressed the Russian people with a pre-recorded video message.
According to Putin, the incident in Moscow was a “bloody terrorist attack”.
He announced a national day of mourning for Sunday (March 24).
“Dozens of peaceful, innocent people have lost their lives,” Putin said, emphasizing that security measures had been increased in Moscow and other regions.
Update from March 23rd, 1:15 p.m.:
Accusations against Ukraine continue to come from Russia in connection with the alleged terrorist attack in Russia.
“We think that this attack was planned together with the Ukrainian special services,” said Yan Gagin, advisor to the head of the so-called “Donetsk People’s Republic” in eastern Ukraine.
The Russian publication
Meduza,
citing a source from Russian state media, reported that the Kremlin had called on the state media to specifically highlight any Ukrainian traces in the attack.
Update from March 23, 12:55 p.m.:
According to Margarita Simonyan, head of
Russia Today
, 143 deaths have now been confirmed.
The
Ria Novosti
news agency adopts this figure.
Update from March 23rd, 11:35 a.m.:
Kremlin-affiliated RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan has published a 3-minute long video of the interrogation of one of the alleged attackers from Moscow.
It shows the person kneeling on the ground after his arrest and being interrogated by security forces.
According to Russian media, the suspected attacker came to Russia from Turkey on March 4th.
He also says that anonymous people contacted them via Telegram and promised half a million rubles per person for the attack and provided weapons.
Death toll in Moscow continues to rise: Federal government condemns the attack
Update from March 23rd, 11 a.m.:
The death toll after the suspected terrorist attack in Russia has risen to 115, as the Russian news agency
Ria Novosti
and other Russian media report.
Update from March 23rd, 10:35 a.m.:
The federal government has sharply condemned the deadly attack on a concert hall in Russia.
“We condemn the terrible terrorist attack on innocent concert-goers in Moscow,” wrote Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) on the Internet service X on Saturday. “Our thoughts are with the relatives of the victims and all those injured.”
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) spoke of a “cowardly, inhumane terror” that would be condemned “everywhere”.
“Innocent people who just wanted to go to a rock concert were murdered in cold blood,” she also wrote on X. Her condolences go out to the people of Russia.
Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck (Greens) also expressed his condolences and spoke of “terrible news from Moscow”.
“My condolences go out to the victims and their families who are now grieving and fearing for the injured,” he said in a press release distributed by the Federal Ministry of Economics.
It is now important to “clarify the background quickly”.
After the attack in Moscow: FSB reports eleven arrests
Update from March 23, 9:30 a.m.:
The death toll after the suspected terrorist attack in Russia has risen to 93, as the Russian news agency
Ria Novosti
reports.
It is therefore expected that the number of deaths will continue to rise.
Update from March 23rd, 9:15 a.m.:
The Russian domestic secret service FSB has announced the arrests of eleven suspects in connection with the suspected terrorist attack in Moscow.
These would also include four people who carried out the attack.
Russian MP Alexander Chinstein had previously announced on his Telegram channel that two people had been arrested in the Bryansk region after a chase.
Where are the Moscow attackers?
New photos emerge – apparently two arrests
First report from March 23rd:
Moscow - The suspected terrorist attack in Moscow on Friday evening (March 22), which was most likely carried out by the IS terrorist militia, was carried out by at least four armed men, according to recordings.
So far, however, things have been strangely quiet around them, even several hours after the attack.
There is little – and unconfirmed – information about the whereabouts of the attackers in Russian media.
Moscow terrorist attack: who are the attackers?
Russian media publishes photos
Initially, there were photos of five to six men circulating in Russian Telegram channels that were supposed to show the alleged attackers.
Accordingly, they came from the Muslim-dominated Russian Caucasus region of Ingushetia.
But the truth about the photos quickly came to light.
It was a terrorist cell that was neutralized by Russian special forces in a terrorist operation in the city of Karabulak in Ingushetia at the beginning of March.
However, two more photos and a video later emerged that were classified as authentic.
In one of the photos, the attackers can be seen sitting in their car - a white Renault - and driving to the Crocus City Hall concert hall to carry out their plan.
Another photo shows her car from behind.
In the video, which was captured by another car's dashcam, they can be seen getting out of the car and starting to fire their weapons.
Attackers from Tajikistan?
Two suspects have apparently already been arrested
Meanwhile, more photos are circulating in Russian media.
The Telegram channel
Baza
, which previously reported that the attackers escaped from the concert hall, shared mugshots purporting to show them.
There are a total of six suspects, with two already arrested in the Bryansk region, the channel's sources said.
Accordingly, the members of the cell that carried out the attack are citizens of Tajikistan.
Baza
also attached photos of supposedly official letters to police stations.
The date on the documents - March 23, 2024 - shows that it is a recent letter, with the perpetrators said to be 21, 29, 37 and 51 years old respectively.
Officials have not yet provided any information about the attackers.
The IS terrorist militia is represented in Central Asian countries with its branch “IS-Khorasan”.
“Khorasan” is a historical name for the region.
(bb)