RUSSIA HUNTS ATTACKERS
Authorities mentioned a hunt had been launched for the attackers and {that a} “terrorism” investigation had been launched.
The United Nations and the US condemned the assault, as did the European Union and different Western nations which have sided with Ukraine since Russia’s 2022 invasion.
A press release launched by the Islamic State group claimed accountability however Russia didn’t instantly blame anybody. Former president Dmitry Medvedev did say, nevertheless, that Ukrainian leaders discovered to be concerned can be “destroyed”.
The US condemned the “horrible” occasions and mentioned there was no signal of Ukrainian involvement.
Ukraine intelligence blamed “Russian particular companies”, saying the assault can be used to step up the battle.
The Ukrainian international ministry mentioned accusations in opposition to the nation had been “a deliberate provocation by the Kremlin to additional gasoline anti-Ukrainian hysteria in Russian society”.
WHY DID ISLAMIC STATE ATTACK MOSCOW?
Islamic State’s Afghan department, referred to as Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-Okay), is without doubt one of the most energetic regional associates of the militant group.
It has a historical past of assaults, together with in opposition to mosques, inside and out of doors Afghanistan.
Consultants mentioned the group has opposed Russian President Vladimir Putin in recent times. In September 2022, ISIS-Okay militants claimed accountability for a lethal suicide bombing on the Russian embassy in Kabul.
“ISIS-Okay has been fixated on Russia for the previous two years, regularly criticising Putin in its propaganda,” mentioned Colin Clarke of Soufan Heart, a Washington-based analysis group.
Michael Kugelman of the Washington-based Wilson Heart mentioned that ISIS-Okay “sees Russia as being complicit in actions that often oppress Muslims”.
He added that the group additionally counts as members quite a few Central Asian militants with their very own grievances in opposition to Moscow.
WARNINGS AND DARK HISTORY OF RADICAL ATTACKS
The US embassy had mentioned two weeks earlier than the Moscow assault that there was a threat of “extremists” concentrating on mass gatherings in Moscow, together with concert events.
Russian authorities introduced on Mar 3 that six suspected Islamic State fighters had been killed in an operation in Ingushetia, a small Muslim-majority republic within the Caucasus area.
Russia has been the goal of previous assaults by Islamic militants, but additionally mass killings with no clear political hyperlink.
In 2002, Chechen separatist fighters took 912 folks hostage in a Moscow theatre, the Dubrovka, demanding the withdrawal of Russian troops from the Caucasus republic.
Particular forces attacked the theatre to finish the hostage-taking and 130 folks had been killed, almost all suffocated by a fuel utilized by safety forces to knock out the gunmen.
