By Selina Riachi | Staff Writer
During the evening of March 22, attackers armed with guns and incendiary devices opened fire in Russia’s Crocus City Complex, a popular music hall and shopping center.
That night, the auditorium was packed because of a concert by the band Picnic. About 6,500 people were at the show when the chaos unfolded. According to an anonymous survivor, the gunmen “started shooting everywhere” while no one was comprehending the situation. They proceeded to set everything on fire which caused the venue’s roof to partially collapse. Concertgoers were screaming, huddling together, and hiding behind their seats to escape the shots filling the hall.
A SWAT team was called and about 70 ambulance teams assisted the concertgoers. It took almost 10 hours for the fire to be contained. At least 137 people were killed during this attack and, according to the emergency responders, 2 more died after being hospitalized. More than 180 people were injured with many in serious conditions. The assault was labeled the worst terrorist attack Russia has seen in two decades. The victims were ensured to receive financial compensation from the region and city governments.
ISIS claimed responsibility by publishing a short statement on Amaq news agency on Telegram that same night as the attack. The group published an image of four men wearing balaclavas with their faces blurred. ISIS described the assault as the “fiercest in years”, according to a translation of the message by the SITE Intelligence Group. They provided details of what happened, saying that three fighters attacked the crowd with guns and knives while the fourth threw incendiary devices. “The attack comes within the normal context of the raging war between the Islamic State and countries fighting Islam,” the group stated.
Over the past month, Russia has thwarted many ISIS-related incidents and blasted American warnings concerning extremists’ plans to target large gatherings in Moscow. A few days before the attack, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the Americans’ intentions were “provocative” and aimed to “intimidate and destabilize” their society. After the assault, there were questions about the specificity of the American warnings and how Russia followed up with the threat of attack. Putin delivered a statement where he acknowledged the role of “radical Islamists” in the tragedy.
“We know that the crime was committed by radical Islamists, whose ideology the Islamic world itself has been fighting for centuries,” Putin said. He also suggested that Ukraine had something to do with the assault. “It is also necessary to answer the question, ‘Why the terrorists tried to go to Ukraine after committing a crime?’ Who was waiting for them there? It is clear that those who support the Kyiv regime do not want to be accomplices of terror and sponsors of terrorism, but there are really a lot of questions,” he stated, according to the Kremlin. Putin suggested that “this atrocity may be just a link in a whole series of attempts by those who have been at war with our country since 2014 with the hands of the neo-Nazi Kyiv regime.”
However, Ukraine has vehemently denied involvement and called the Kremlin’s claims “absurd.” President Volodymyr Zelensky angrily dismissed Putin’s claim, saying it was “absolutely predictable” that the latter would blame Ukraine “instead of dealing with his Russian citizens, addressing them”. The United States Vice President Kamala Harris also stated that “there is no, whatsoever, any evidence” of Ukraine being connected to the attack.
The main suspects are four men from Tajikistan who are now in pre-trial detention until May 22. They were identified as Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev, 32; Saidakrami Rachabalizoda, 30; Shamsidin Fariduni, 25; and Mukhammadsobir Faizov, 19 by Moscow City Courts. They were all working as migrant laborers in Russia and began living together in a hotel north of Moscow no later than March 11th. They were arrested while trying to cross the border to Ukraine 14 hours after the attack and were violently interrogated. When they appeared in court in Moscow on the 24th, they showed signs of being severely beaten. “They had bruises on their faces that were visible, and also one of the men was semi-conscious. He was wheeled into the courthouse with his doctor,” Al-Jazeera said.
Three of them have already pleaded guilty during the closed hearings and all four men face possible life imprisonment. The Russian Investigative Committee stated that more people were involved in the attack and has detained 7 people other than the four “directly involved.” They were also placed in pre-trial detention, but their fate remains unclear. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said that the investigation is ongoing but promised that “the perpetrators will be punished. They do not deserve mercy.” Moreover, the deputy head of Russia’s Security Council Dmitry Medvedev urged authorities to “kill them all.”
Tajikistan has reiterated its readiness to fight terrorism with Russia and is assisting the investigation. Tajik Prime Minister Kokhir Rasulzoda also wrote a note in the book of condolences at the Russian embassy. Other countries have strongly condemned the massacre and are grieving with Russia. They stand in solidarity with Russian citizens and have extended their deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims. May all the victims rest in peace.
Resources:
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/23/europe/moscow-attack-what-we-know-intl/index.html
https://edition.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-attack-moscow-03-25-24/index.html
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/25/russias-putin-says-radical-islamists-behind-moscow-concert-hall-attack
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68652380
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/03/24/world/moscow-russia-attack-news
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68645755