At Least 115 Killed in Moscow Attack, 11 Suspects Detained

Improve the News Foundation -

Facts

  • At least 115 people were killed and scores more were injured after gunmen opened fire and detenotated explosives at a Moscow concert hall late on Friday.1
  • In what was Russia's worst terror attack in years, footage from the inside Crocus City Hall showed camouflaged men fire automatic weapons as panicked Russians fled for their lives. Another video showed the gunmen fire from point-blank range at those who fell.2
  • Witnesses spoke of at least two explosions and footage from outside the building showed it engulfed in flames. Those trapped on the roof could be seen begging for help. Emergency service officials later said there was a partial collapse of the roof and that the fire was contained shortly after midnight.2
  • While Russian officials have not yet publicly assigned blame for the attack, it was claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group on affiliated social media. It comes after Russian security agencies and the terror group have been involved in a growing number of incidents in the past several weeks, including an incident where Russian security officials killed six IS members in the Caucasus region.3
  • American intelligence officials who briefed members of the media said that US intelligence agencies have already concluded IS was behind the attack. They added that the US became aware of an IS plot on Moscow and that Washington went on to privately share the intelligence with Russian counterparts.1
  • On Saturday, Russia's Federal Security Service, the FSB, said it had detained 11 people in connection with Friday's attacks, including four suspects it said had directly participated. The FSB added that it had already located a weapons cache and that further investigations were ongoing.4

Sources: 1Associated Press, 2The Guardian, 3Al Jazeera and 4TASS.

Narratives

  • Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by TASS. This was a heinous attack in which these terrorists went on a calculated killing spree, mowing down dozens of victims. Russian officials are taking swift and immediate action to fully investigate the circumstances around this attack and hold accountable those responsible.
  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Al Jazeera. This was a shocking and appalling act and has rightly been condemned by world leaders across the world. Acts of terrorism on innocent civilians will never be acceptable and the world stands with Russia at this difficult time.

Predictions