The death toll in the attack on the "Crocus City Hall" concert hall in Moscow has risen to 133, the state investigative committee announced today.
As reported, more bodies were found today during the clearing of the ruins in the concert hall. It added that the search is continuing. The previous balance was 115 dead.
According to official data, more than 140 people were injured in the attack that took place last night.
The Russian authorities have so far identified 29 of the 133 people killed, the Ministry of Emergency Situations announced today.
The ministry has published a list that currently contains only 29 names, which illustrates the difficulty in identifying victims.
Rescue teams continue to clear the ruins of Crocus City Hall, which was destroyed by a fire caused by attackers.
The Afghan branch of the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack in a post on its social media.
A US intelligence official told AP that US agencies had confirmed that the group was responsible for the attack.
Russian President Vladimir Putin today accused Ukraine of being connected to the attack on the concert hall in Moscow.
In an address to the nation, Putin said that all four people directly involved in the attack had been detained and suggested that they were trying to cross the border into Ukraine as they fled. The head of the Federal Security Service (FSB) Aleksandar Bortnikov previously made the same claim, but the evidence for this has not been published.
Ukraine strongly denied any involvement in the terrorist attack and accused Moscow of using the attack to drum up support for the war in Ukraine.
The editor-in-chief of RT, Margarita Simonjan, announced earlier on Telegram that the new balance was 143 victims, but did not specify the source of that data, Reuters reported.
The head of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), Alexander Bortnikov, informed the president of that country, Vladimir Putin, that 11 people who participated in the terrorist attack were detained, including "all four terrorists who were directly involved in the attack", the news agency reported this morning. Ria Novosti.
The Kremlin announced that Borotnikov informed Putin about the arrest of 11 people connected to the attack, including four direct attackers.
The Russian Investigative Committee reported through its Telegram account that four suspects in the terrorist attack on Crocus City Hall were detained near the border with Ukraine, reports RIA Novosti.
"Special services in the Bryansk region, not far from the border with Ukraine, detained four suspects among those who carried out a terrorist attack in the Crocus City Hall concert hall," the announcement states.
According to FSB data, after the terrorist attack, four suspects tried to escape by car and cross the Russian-Ukrainian border.
The criminals had contacts in Ukraine and used weapons prepared in advance in the hideout, the FSB said, adding that investigators have begun working with them.
Russia's Ministry of Internal Affairs announced that all four suspected gunmen arrested after a deadly attack on a concert hall near Moscow are foreign nationals, Reuters reported.
The AP agency writes that Russian agencies seem to be hinting that the attack is linked to Ukraine, although the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack through its social network.
Reuters reports that the Islamic State has published a photo on one of its Telegram channels in which they claim to be the attackers.
A US intelligence official told the AP that US agencies had confirmed that the Islamic State was responsible for the attack.
Ukraine: Suggestions that we have something to do with the attack have nothing to do with reality
Ukraine was not involved in the attack and suggestions of a Ukrainian connection "have nothing in common with reality," said a spokesman for Kiev's military intelligence agency.
"This is, of course, another lie by the Russian services," Andriy Yusov of the Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate told Reuters.
"Ukraine, of course, was not involved in this terrorist attack. "Ukraine is defending its sovereignty against Russian invaders, liberating its own territory, and fighting the occupying army and military targets, not civilians," he added.
The attack is the heaviest in Russia in years and occurred as Russia's war in Ukraine enters its third year.
Shortly after the attack, some Russian MPs pointed the finger at Ukraine. Mihailo Podoljak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, denied any involvement in the attack.
"Ukraine has never resorted to terrorist methods," he wrote on the X network, adding that everything in the war with Russia will be decided only on the battlefield.
Messages of shock, condemnation and support for those affected by the attack in Russia are pouring in from around the world.
In Moscow itself, hundreds of people lined up this morning to donate blood, the Russian Ministry of Health reported.
A branch of the Islamic State, an extremist group that once controlled parts of Iraq and Syria, operating in South-Central Asia (ISIS-K) claimed responsibility for the attack on its Telegram channel. The authenticity of the video has not yet been confirmed, but a few hours earlier, the FSB announced that it prevented an attack on a synagogue in Moscow that was supposed to be carried out by a cell of the Islamic State, the Voice of America reports.
Putin and the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, confirmed in a telephone conversation "the readiness to fight terrorism together", the Tass agency reported, citing the Kremlin, as reported by Reuters.
Gunmen opened fire on civilians at Crocus City Hall on Friday night just before the Soviet-era rock group Piknik was due to start a concert at the packed 6.200-seat venue in a suburb west of Moscow.
A fire broke out during the attack, and two explosions rang out. Part of the building's roof collapsed in the fire.
In the videos, which have been verified as authentic, people are seen running away as gunfire is heard.
"A stampede started, everyone was rushing towards the stairs," an eyewitness told Reuters. "Everyone was screaming, everyone was running".
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin described the event as a "tremendous tragedy" and state authorities are investigating it as terrorism.
Russian media videos showed flames and smoke around the hall, and there were reports that some of the attackers had barricaded themselves in part of the building. Special units of the Russian National Guard as well as the police and firefighters came to the scene, Tass reported. The regional governor announced that there are more than 70 ambulances in front of the concert hall.
Russian authorities have stepped up security measures at airports and train stations in Moscow, and all major social gatherings have been cancelled. Russian President Vladimir Putin receives regular updates on the attack, the Kremlin spokesman said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry described the incident as a "bloody terrorist attack."
"The entire world community has an obligation to condemn this monstrous crime," said Marija Zaharova, spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
She added that the statement from the UN Secretary General's office expressing regret for the attack "is not a strong enough condemnation" and is insufficient.
The White House announced on Friday that it was "difficult to watch" scenes from the Russian capital.
"Those scenes are just horrific and difficult to watch, and of course we extend our condolences to the victims of this horrific, horrific attack," White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.
The US Embassy in Russia previously warned that there was an immediate plan by "extremists" to attack in Moscow, which was later confirmed by Kirby's colleague, National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson:
"Earlier this month, the US government had information about a planned terrorist attack in Moscow - potentially targeting large gatherings, including concerts - which led the State Department to issue an alert for US citizens in Russia. The US government also shared this information with the Russian authorities in accordance with its long-standing 'duty to warn' policy".
The White House also said that so far there is no evidence that Ukraine was in any way involved in the attack, to which Moscow responded that the US "should share all the information it has with Russia."
The French foreign ministry expressed its condolences to the families of the shooting victims and the Russian people, in a post on the X network on Friday night.
Condolences were also expressed by Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who said that all those involved in the crime must be found and brought to justice.
The EU, shocked by the terrorist attack in Moscow, condemns the attacks on civilians
The European Union is "shocked and appalled by reports of a terrorist attack" on the Crocus City Hall in Moscow, EU spokesman Peter Stano announced on the X network.
"The EU condemns every attack on civilians. Our thoughts are with all Russian citizens affected by this attack," Stano wrote last night.
Czech officials strongly condemned last night's terrorist attack at a concert in Moscow as a gruesome act for which no justification can be found and expressed their sincere condolences to the families of the victims.
"The Czech Republic condemns the terrorist attack in Moscow. Targeting civilians is unacceptable. Condolences to the families of the victims," announced the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"The terrorist attack is terrible and gruesome no matter where it happens. My sincere condolences to the families of all the victims in Moscow," said the President of the Senate of the Czech Parliament, Miloš Vistrčil.
The Minister for European Affairs, Martin Dvoržak, emphasized that terrorist attacks on the civilian population are equally heinous everywhere.
"Whoever commits them and anywhere cannot be justified. The families of the dead deserve our condolences. It is the same now," X Dvorak wrote online last night.
Immediately after the first news about the attack, Radoslav Šikorski, the head of diplomacy of neighboring Poland, spoke out last night and said that his country "of course, always condemns terrorist attacks in any form".
"We are moved by the news of the tragedy in the Crocus City Hall concert hall near Moscow. We categorically condemn the terrorist attack and express our sincere condolences to the families of the victims," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced today.
Moscow: The Piknik group announced that its members are alive and out of danger
The Piknik group, whose concert was the subject of a terrorist attack in the Crocus City Hall concert hall in Moscow, announced that its musicians and management are alive and out of danger.
"Today, a tragedy occurred at Crocus City Hall, the extent of which we cannot yet assess. We are following the news while waiting for official information. The musicians and the band's management are alive and out of danger," the group said on Instagram.
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