As of: March 25, 2024, 9:20 a.m
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137 people, including children, die in a terrorist attack in Moscow.
Suspects are brought before the judge.
The news ticker.
Death toll continues to rise: Russian Ministry of Health announces number of victims
Shots in
concert hall
: Islamic State (IS) claims responsibility for attack in Moscow
Gun attack
near
Moscow
: Ukraine clearly rejects possible involvement
Update from March 25, 9:00 a.m.:
Russia doubts that the radical militia Islamic State (IS/Isis) is responsible for the attack on the concert hall near Moscow.
“Attention – a question for the White House: Are you sure it was Isis?
Could you think about it again?” writes Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova in an article for the
Komsomolskaya Pravda
newspaper .
“The USA spread the specter of IS to distract from its wards in Kiev,” Zakharova continued.
The extremist organization IS claimed responsibility for the attack.
The USA considers this to be credible.
However, Russian President Vladimir Putin has not yet publicly mentioned the Islamists in connection with the attack, but has instead drawn a connection to Ukraine.
Suspected assassins in court
Update from March 25th, 6:00 a.m.:
Marked with severe facial injuries, the four suspected attackers in the latest terrorist attack near Moscow were brought before the judge.
The defendants were brought to the Basmanny Court in the Russian capital on Sunday by masked security forces and placed in glass cages with clearly visible bruises, swelling, abrasions and lacerations.
One of them was apparently unable to walk and was strapped into a hospital chair with his eyes closed.
Another had an unprofessional-looking bandage on his right ear.
A suspect in the terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall concert hall is escorted by police and FSB officers to the Basmanny District Court.
© Alexander Zemlianichenko/dpa
Before the court hearing, video footage was circulated online showing that the arrested men were tortured and one of them even had his ear cut off.
It was not initially possible to independently verify whether the recordings were authentic.
The actual hearing took place behind closed doors, as the Russian state agency Tass reported.
The terror suspect in the hospital chair who is said to have filmed the attack had “difficulty speaking”.
The investigative committee accuses him and his three alleged accomplices of carrying out a deadly terrorist attack together.
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After the attack in Moscow: France on terror alert
Update from March 24th, 10:02 p.m.:
After the attack on a concert hall near Moscow with more than 130 deaths, the French government is declaring the highest alert level in its country.
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced this on Sunday evening in the online service X.
In addition to the attack near Moscow, he also referred to “threats that our country is exposed to” as a reason for raising the threat level.
After terrorist attack near Moscow: First two suspects in court
Update from March 24th, 9:08 p.m.:
After the devastating terrorist attack near Moscow, a court in the Russian capital received an application for arrest warrants for two suspected actors in the bloody attack on Sunday evening.
The investigative committee had already informed them that charges would be brought against them for the deadly terrorist attack that they carried out together, the state agency
Tass
reported .
A total of eleven suspects were arrested after the crime, four of whom are considered to be the actual shooters.
Number of deaths after attack near Moscow rises
Update from March 24th, 6:23 p.m.:
The number of deaths after the attack in Moscow is increasing.
As the Russian state news agency
Tass
reports with reference to the press service of the Russian Investigative Committee, there are now at least 137 deaths.
“Identification of the dead continues.
So far 137 bodies have been found.
Three of them are children.
“So far, 62 bodies have been identified,” it said.
Terror near Moscow: Islamic State terrorist militia releases video after attack in Russia
Update from March 24th, 4:50 p.m.:
After the terrorist attack near Moscow with more than 130 deaths, the Islamic State terrorist militia published a video of the bloody act.
The propaganda channel Amak published an almost 90-second video on Sunday that is said to show the attackers at the site of the attack.
Arabic subtitles say Amak shows “exclusive scenes” of “bloody attacks on Christians.”
Medvedev comments on the attack in Moscow
Update from March 24th, 4:15 p.m.:
The terrorist attack in Moscow has caused international horror.
Now former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has also spoken out.
In a post on the Telegram news service on Sunday, the politician loyal to Putin threatened to avenge the victims of the Moscow attack.
“And everyone involved, no matter where they come from or what their status is, is now our rightful and official target.”
On Friday, Medvedev posted a post on his Telegram channel in which he initially expressed his condolences to the relatives of those killed in Russia.
These words were also followed by threats and accusations.
He said that “terrorists only understand terror for retaliation” and that this also applies in the case that “we find out that they are terrorists from the regime in Kiev”.
He added: “They must all be found and mercilessly destroyed as terrorists.
This also includes the officials of the state that committed such atrocity.”
Attack near Moscow: Fire brigade fought the flames for hours
Update from March 24th, 9:50 a.m.:
The company that owns the concert hall that burned down in the fatal attack on Friday promises to rebuild the building.
“We will never forget those who fell victim to the terrorists.
What was destroyed by the dirty hands (of terrorists) will be restored,” said Crocus Group.
The Crocus City Hall had more than 6,000 seats.
It was built in 2009 by billionaire Aras Agalarov's Crocus Group on the outskirts of Moscow.
According to authorities, during the attack, gunmen in camouflage clothing fired wildly, then a fire broke out, causing the roof to collapse.
Hundreds of firefighters tried to contain the flames for hours.
Attack near Moscow: Number of dead in Russia estimated at 133
Update from March 24th, 6:30 a.m.:
The number of victims after the terrorist attack on a concert hall near Moscow initially remained at 133.
The state news agency Tass reported this on Sunday morning, citing the Emergencies Ministry for the Moscow region.
The number of injured rose from 147 to 152, including five children.
Many of the injured are said to be in critical condition.
During the night, heavy machinery cleared rubble from the site.
It had been feared that more victims could be found under the rubble of the badly damaged concert hall in Krasnogorsk, northwest of Moscow.
According to authorities, the clean-up and rescue work should last at least until Sunday evening.
Russia is commemorating the victims with a national day of remembrance this Sunday (March 24).
The terrorist militia Islamic State had already claimed responsibility for the attack on Saturday night, but Russian President Vladimir Putin saw a “Ukrainian trace” behind the attack - but without providing any evidence for it.
After attack near Moscow - two of the attackers allegedly killed
Update from March 23rd, 9:45 p.m.:
Two of the people involved in the attack in Moscow are said to have been killed.
According to information from the
BBC
, one of the attackers was already killed in the concert hall.
Another is said to have died in the Bryansk region.
The dead were Tajik nationals.
A court is said to have asked him in advance to make a “controlled, independent departure” from Russia.
The man had already exceeded his 90-day stay in 2018.
Faeser also warns of an increased risk of terrorism in Germany
Update from March 23rd, 8:50 p.m.:
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has classified the threat of terrorism in Germany as “acute”, especially after the recent attack in Moscow.
She expressed her assessment to the
Süddeutsche Zeitung
that “the terrorist group Islamic State of Khorasan Province is responsible for the murderous terrorist attack near Moscow.”
The minister emphasized that the ISPK, an offshoot of the Islamic State, also represents “the greatest Islamic threat” in Germany.
The ISPK is assigned to the historical region of Khorasan, which includes parts of the present-day countries of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran.
According to Faeser, the increased security measures during the Christmas and New Year's Eve celebrations in Cologne served to ward off possible attacks by the ISPK.
She warned, “The threat of Islamist terrorism remains acute.”
The Interior Minister emphasized that the Islamist scene remains in the sights of the security authorities: “The Islamist scene is the focus of the BKA, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the security authorities of the federal states.”
Faeser condemned the “cowardly and brutal terrorist attack” in Moscow and expressed her condolences to the families and relatives of the victims.
Terror suspects are said to have been recruited by the “assistant preacher” for the attack in Moscow
Update from March 23rd, 4:47 p.m.:
The
RIA Novosti
news agency reports on its Telegram channel about the four suspected terrorists who were arrested, that they most recently lived together in a dormitory in the north of Moscow, but that some of them had only been together for ten to twelve days knew.
They were hired by a person who calls himself an “assistant preacher.”
They also speak Russian very poorly, or at least pretend to, so interpreters would have to help during interrogations.
They were told by the “Preacher's Assistant” where to strike.
The assault rifles were organized for them, but they threw the weapons away as they fled.
According to the report, it is not clear from the interviews what exactly motivated the group.
However, one of the men is said to have spoken of a payment that was initially 500,000 rubles and ultimately around a million rubles (around 9,975 euros).
Putin speech on the terrorist attack: reference to Ukraine and announcement of a day of mourning
Update from March 23, 1:50 p.m.: According to the
Tass
news agency, Vladimir Putin speaks in his speech
of a “bloody, barbaric terrorist attack” in which “dozens of peaceful, innocent people, our compatriots, including children, young people and women” became victims .
He declares March 24th a day of mourning.
According to the Kremlin chief, the detainees moved towards Ukraine, where a “window” had been prepared for them, the
RIA Novosti
news agency quotes .
Putin also promised that all perpetrators and those behind the attack would be found and punished.
The 71-year-old also drew a comparison to the Nazis when he described the actions of the assassins, who shot their victims at close range.
For Russia it is now about standing together.
Update from March 23rd, 1:25 p.m.:
After the terrorist attack, further accusations towards Ukraine are being made from Russia and the annexed territories.
Yan Gagin, adviser to the head of the so-called “Donetsk People’s Republic” in eastern Ukraine, said: “We think that this attack was planned together with the Ukrainian special services.”
Meanwhile, the Russian media
Meduza
reports that Russian publications loyal to the state and government have received instructions from the Russian presidential administration to highlight a possible “Ukrainian trace” when reporting on the attack.
An employee of a state media outlet and an employee of a Kremlin-loyal publication confirmed this to the team at the Riga-based internet newspaper.
Update from March 23, 1:05 p.m.:
A new list from the Moscow Region Ministry of Health names 127 people who were treated in clinics after the attack.
There are also five children aged seven, eight, eleven, twelve and twelve years old.
Update from March 23rd, 11:45 a.m.:
The Russian news agency
RIA Novosti
, the TV channel
Russia Today
and other media publish a video in which a man is questioned.
It is said to be one of the suspects.
The man says he arrived from Turkey on March 4th.
He was promised 500,000 rubles (almost 5,000 euros), half of which was only to be transferred after the crime.
The authenticity of the material cannot be determined independently.
Terrorist attack in Moscow claims more than 100 lives
Update from March 23rd, 11:00 a.m.:
During the clean-up work at the site of the terrorist attack, the emergency services came across more bodies.
The investigative committee now puts the death toll at 115, reports the
Tass
news agency .
However, the search work has not yet been completed.
Update from March 23rd, 10:40 a.m.:
The first 41 fatalities have been identified.
The Ministry of Health of the Moscow Region presented a list, according to which the age range is between 33 and 71 years.
Update from March 23rd, 10:00 a.m.:
This message should be treated with caution.
According to the
Tass
news agency , the FSB determined that the arrested suspected terrorists wanted to flee across the border into Ukraine.
Accordingly, they also had contact with the neighboring country that was invaded by Russia.
After the attack, Kiev denied any involvement.
The death toll from the terrorist attack has risen to at least 93
Update from March 23, 9:30 a.m.:
The death toll from the terrorist attack has been revised upwards to 93, as the
Tass
news agency reports, citing the investigative committee.
The causes of death were gunshot wounds, poisoning or burns.
It is therefore assumed that there will be more deaths.
Update from March 23rd, 9:15 a.m.:
The Russian news agency
Tass
reports, citing the Kremlin, that eleven people have now been arrested.
Four of them were involved in the attack.
FSB boss Alexander Bortnikov informed Russian President Vladimir Putin about this.
Update from March 23rd, 8:35 a.m.:
Two of the perpetrators are said to have been arrested.
Alexander Chinshtein, a State Duma deputy, writes on his Telegram channel that police officers tried to stop a Renault near the village of Khatsun in the Bryansk region.
During a subsequent chase, shots were fired and the getaway car overturned.
A suspect was arrested on site while the other inmates fled into the forest.
Another suspected terrorist was picked up during the search.
In addition to weapons and ammunition, passports of citizens of Tajikistan were also found in the vehicle.
Update from March 23rd, 7:40 a.m.:
It remains unclear who the perpetrators of the terrorist attack in Moscow were or what became of them.
So far, the Russian authorities have not provided any information as to whether the attackers were caught, committed suicide or managed to escape.
So far, Vladimir Putin has been just as quiet as the investigators.
The Russian president has not yet commented on the terrorist attack in Moscow.
New figures on victims of terrorist attack in Moscow
Update from March 23, 6:50 a.m.:
The State Investigative Committee of Russia announced that more than 60 people were killed in the suspected terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall near Moscow.
According to the authorities, there are almost 150 injured.
As a result of the attack, all theaters and museums in Moscow will remain closed over the weekend, including world-famous institutions such as the Tretyakov Gallery and the Pushkin Museum.
The authorities also canceled mass events in the Moscow area.
The IS terrorist militia is most likely behind the attack.
But Russia disputes this statement and describes the letter of responsibility as a “fake”.
Update from March 22nd, 11:28 p.m.:
Terror expert Peter Neumann from King's College in London considers the letter of responsibility from the terrorist militia Islamic State (IS) for the attack near Moscow to be genuine.
Neumann confirmed this on Friday at the request of the German Press Agency.
“The message of confession was broadcast through all official IS channels.
“I and my colleagues can confirm this 100%,” Neumann also wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
The German-born scientist also warned of false news circulating on Russian Telegram channels claiming that the IS message was fake.
There is "already a lot of fake news -- probably to spin the narrative that Ukraine was responsible for the attack," wrote Neumann.
In a message distributed on the Telegram channel of the IS mouthpiece Amak, it was previously said that IS fighters had carried out the attack with dozens of deaths and many injured in the city of Krasnogorsk in the Moscow region and then fled to safety.
Shots in a concert hall near Moscow: Islamic State (IS) claims responsibility for the attack
Update from March 22nd, 10:36 p.m
.: The jihadist militia Islamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility for the fatal attack in Moscow on Telegram, as reported by the
AFP
news agency, among others .
Gun attack near Moscow: Ukraine clearly rejects possible involvement
Update from March 22nd, 9:51 p.m
.: Ukraine says it has “absolutely nothing” to do with the gun attack near Moscow.
“Let us make it clear that Ukraine has absolutely nothing to do with these events,” wrote Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s adviser Mykhailo Podolyak on Telegram.
“Ukraine has never used terrorist methods of war,” Podolyak added.
For Ukraine, it is “important to carry out effective combat operations, offensive actions to destroy the regular Russian army” and end the invasion that began around two years ago.
40 dead after attack in Moscow: Germany expresses condolences
Update from March 22nd, 9:34 p.m
.: The Foreign Office in Berlin wrote on the online service become.
In the past, Russia has been the target of, among other things, attacks by Islamist groups, but also of attacks that were attributed to mentally disturbed people.
In 2002, Chechen militants took 912 people hostage at Moscow's Dubrovka Theater to demand the withdrawal of Russian troops from Chechnya.
Attack in Moscow: Head of the Federation Council threatens retaliation
Update from March 22nd, 9:05 p.m
.: After the alleged terrorist attack near Moscow, the head of the Federation Council, Valentina Matwijenko, threatened the masterminds with retaliation.
“Those behind this terrible crime will receive the deserved and inevitable punishment,” she wrote on Telegram.
At the same time, she announced, the state would do everything it could to help those left behind.
The government also announced help.
Update from March 22nd, 8:52 p.m
.: Western embassies had recently warned of terrorist attacks in Moscow.
The Kremlin described this as a “provocation” from the West, reports the
AFP
news agency about the attack in Moscow.
Attack in Moscow: Russia initiates terror investigation
Update from March 22nd, 8:21 p.m
.: After the attack on a Moscow event hall, Russia's Central Investigative Committee has opened proceedings into a suspected act of terrorism.
The authority announced this on Telegram this evening.
“Despicable”: Russia calls shooting at Moscow concert hall “terror attack”
First report
: Moscow – After the shooting in a concert hall in the Moscow region, the Russian domestic secret service FSB has confirmed dead and injured people, according to the Russian agency
Interfax
.
Concrete figures about the suspected terrorist attack were not initially given on Friday evening (March 22nd).
According to authorities, additional explosions were reported following shots fired and a fire.
According to the
Reuters
news agency, Russian ombudswoman Tatyana Moskalkova spoke of a “terrorist attack”.
The Russian Foreign Ministry called the attack a “bloody terrorist attack.”
“The entire global community must condemn this despicable crime,” wrote ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Friday evening on the Telegram online service.
Shots in a concert hall in Moscow: US government reacts
The mayor of Moscow canceled all major events over the weekend.
According to the
Tass
news agency , security precautions at the capital's airports and train stations are being strengthened.
According to the US government, there is currently no evidence that Ukraine was involved in the attack.
(dpa/AFP/Reuters/frs)