Russian President Vladimir Putin now says 'radical Islamists' were behind Friday's attack on a concert hall that killed more than 130 people, but connected it to Ukraine and the West. ISIS-K — an offshoot of the Islamic State — has claimed responsibility.

Moscow

Russian President Vladimir Putin has attributed the recent attack on a concert hall, which resulted in over 130 fatalities, to "radical Islamists." This statement came after the incident had already garnered significant attention. Putin has also drawn connections between these radical Islamists and Ukraine, as well as the broader Western world. Adding to the complexity of the situation, ISIS-K, known as an offshoot of the Islamic State, has claimed responsibility for the attack.



Putin links concert hall attackers to Ukraine

The faces of the four alleged gunmen tell the story of their arrest and what happened afterwards. They appeared in court bruised, beaten and barely conscious. Late Monday three others also appeared accused of being complicit in the attack on a Moscow concert hall that left more than 130 dead. For the first time Russia's president described the attackers as radical Islamists but suggested Ukraine and the West could also have been involved. This atrocity may be just a link in a whole series of attempts by those who've been at war with our country since 2014, he said. The group ISIS-K, an offshoot of Islamic State, has claimed responsibility. It carried out a suicide bombing at the Kabul airport in 2021 and recently staged attacks in Iran and Turkey. Germany says it stopped the group from targeting a cathedral on New Year's Eve and France's president said police there had also foiled planned attacks. We have offered to increase cooperation with Russia's intelligence services and our partners in the region, said Emmanuel Macron. France raised its terror threat to the highest level and Italy has stepped up security ahead of Easter. So we are seeing an upscaling by ISIS operations. This international terrorism expert says Russia is a target of jihadi groups in part because it fought in Syria alongside the government against ISIS. With the expansion of ISIS-K they have been increasingly trying to tap into communities in Central Asia but also Central Asian communities in Russia. And the way they go about doing it is predominantly online through encrypted messaging apps. The suspected gunmen are all from Tajikistan. Russia has said they were arrested on the way to Ukraine. Ukraine and the U.S. have dismissed attempts to try and link Kiev to the attack as propaganda. Briar Stewart, CBC News, London.

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