The Russian Investigative Committee announced on Friday that it was studying a Ukrainian lead in the attack perpetrated in March near Moscow and claimed by the Islamic State (IS) organization.
“Investigators were able to recover data from the cell phones of those accused of committing the
Crocus City Hall attack,
”
the Investigative Committee, responsible for the main investigations in the country, said in a statement.
On March 22, gunmen entered the Crocus City Hall concert hall near Moscow before opening fire on the crowd and setting the building on fire. At least 144 people died and 360 were injured in this attack claimed by IS. Twelve suspects were arrested, including the four alleged attackers, from Tajikistan, a former Soviet republic in Central Asia.
Photos in phones
According to data recovered from their cell phones,
"on the morning of February 24, 2024"
, the second anniversary of the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine, one of the accused found photos of the entrances to Crocus City Hall on the Internet and took them sent to his manager, investigators say.
“The accused confirmed all of this in his statements
,” they assure in the press release.
Furthermore,
“photos of men in camouflage with a Ukrainian flag against the backdrop of destroyed buildings”
were discovered in this person’s cell phone, the press release continued, without further details.
“These data may testify to a link between the attack and the progress of the special military operation
,” states the press release, using the euphemism imposed by the Kremlin to describe the offensive in Ukraine.
The Investigative Committee emphasizes having set up checks on the possible involvement
of “representatives of the Ukrainian special services and international Islamist and terrorist organizations in the organization and financing of the attack”
on Crocus City Hall. The Kremlin admitted that
“radical Islamists”
had been behind the attack, while regularly denouncing Ukrainian involvement coordinated by the West.