At least 40 people were killed. killed and more than a hundred injured Friday evening in an armed attack followed by a huge fire in a concert hall in the suburbs of Moscow, which was destroyed. oacute;summer claimed by the jihadist group Islamic State (IS). Russian law enforcement officials said they were “looking” for the attackers. They did not specify whether suspects were still in the building at 8:00 p.m. GMT, although an investigation into a “terrorist act” was opened. The State group Islamic State, which has already targeted Russia on several occasions, claimed on one of its Telegram accounts that its fighters “attacked a large gathering (…) in the vicinity of the Russian capital Moscow”. The spokesperson for Russian diplomacy, Maria Zakharova denounced a “bloody terrorist attack” and a “monstrous crime”. Ukraine quickly denied any responsibility, even blaming the Russian secret services. This assault by several armed individuals took place in the evening at Crocus City Hall, a concert hall located in Krasnogorsk, just outside the northwest of the Russian capital. Paramedics transport a victim after a shooting and fire at the Crocus City Hall concert hall on March 22, 2024 in the Moscow suburb of Krasnogorsk. © Moskva News Agency – Sergei VEDYASHKIN An AFP journalist saw the building engulfed in a large fire, plumes of black smoke escaping from the roof, as well as a very large presence of police and emergency services , whose blue flashing lights lit up the night by the dozens. “Just before the start, we suddenly heard several machine gun bursts and a terrible woman's cry . Then a lot of shouting,” Alexeï, a music producer who was in the dressing room at the time of the attack, told AFP. He said he saw “terrible crowd movements” of spectators wanting to escape. Rescue teams in front of the Crocus City Hall concert hall in flames after a shooting, March 22, 2024 in Krasnogorsk, a suburb of Moscow © AFP – STRINGER According to a journalist from the state news agency Ria Novosti, individuals in camouflage outfits burst onto the concert hall floor before opening fire and throwing “a grenade or an incendiary bomb, which caused a fire”. The flames spread to nearly 13,000 m2 of the building, according to the Ministry of Emergency Situations cited by Russian agencies.< /p> “The people in the room lay down on the ground to protect themselves from the gunfire for 15 to 20 minutes, after which they began to crawl out. Many managed to get out,” said this Ria Novosti journalist. – Armed men – The president Vladimir Putin is “constantly” informed and was informed “from the first minutes” of the attack, said his spokesperson Dmitri Peskov. Deadly attack in Moscow suburbs © AFP – Valentin RAKOVSKY, Paz PIZARRO The Telegram news channels Baza and Mash, known to be close to the police, published videos showing at least two armed men advancing in the hall and others on which we can see corpses and groups of people rushing towards the exit. Other images show spectators hiding behind seats or evacuating the concert hall. According to the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry, firefighters managed to evacuate around a hundred people who were in the basement of the room. Operations are underway to “rescue people on the roof of the building using lifting equipment”. The Crocus City Hall concert hall in flames after a shooting, March 22, 2024 in Krasnogorsk, a suburb of Moscow © Moskva News Agency – Sergei VEDYASHKIN Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced the cancellation of all public events this weekend. The capital's main museums and theaters have announced their closure. This attack occurred during a concert by the Russian rock band Piknik. – “Heinous acts” – The White House said it was “in thoughts with the victims of the terrible attack “. France and Italy denounced “heinous acts”, the EU said it was “shocked and dismayed”. The Crocus City Hall concert hall in flames after a shooting, March 22, 2024 in Krasnogorsk, a suburb of Moscow © AFP – STRINGER An adviser to the Ukrainian presidency, Mykhaïlo Podoliak, affirmed that Ukraine, which has been facing a Russian military offensive for two years, “has absolutely nothing to do” with the shooting. A unit of Russian anti-Kremlin fighters behind several armed incursions on the Russian border in recent months, the Russian Freedom Legion, has also denied any involvement. Ukrainian military intelligence accused “Russian special services” of being behind the attack in Moscow in order to “accuse Ukraine and provoke escalation and to expand” its assault against its neighbor. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev assured that Moscow would kill Ukrainian leaders if it turned out that they were involved in this attack. The US Embassy in Russia warned its citizens two weeks ago that it was “closely monitoring reports that extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow, including concerts.” “If the United States has or had reliable data on this matter, it should transmit them immediately to the Russian side,” said Maria Zakharova. Russia has been the target of numerous attacks in the past by Islamist groups.< /p> In 2002, Chechen fighters took 912 people hostage in the Moscow theater of Dubrovka to demand the withdrawal of Russian troops from Chechnya. The hostage-taking ended with an assault by special forces, and the death of 130 people, almost all of them asphyxiated by the gas used by the police. All rights of reproduction and representation reserved. © (2024) Agence France-Presse
By Teilor Stone
Teilor Stone has been a reporter on the news desk since 2013. Before that she wrote about young adolescence and family dynamics for Styles and was the legal affairs correspondent for the Metro desk. Before joining Thesaxon , Teilor Stone worked as a staff writer at the Village Voice and a freelancer for Newsday, The Wall Street Journal, GQ and Mirabella. To get in touch, contact me through my teilor@nizhtimes.com 1-800-268-7116