By Guy Faulconbridge and Andrew Osborn
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Gunmen in camouflage opened fire on concertgoers with automatic weapons on Friday, killing at least 60 people and wounding 145 others in an attack claimed by Islamic State militants.
In the deadliest attack in Russia since the 2004 Beslan school siege, gunmen fired bullets into civilians shortly before the Soviet-era rock band “Picnic” performed before a full audience at the 6,200-seat Crocus Town Hall places, just west of Moscow.
Verified video showed people taking seats in the room, then running for the exits as repeated gunshots echoed above screams. Another video showed men shooting at groups of people. Some victims lay motionless in pools of blood.
“Suddenly there were shots behind us, shots. A barrage of shots, I don’t know what,” one witness, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters.
“A stampede started. Everyone ran to the escalator,” the witness said. “Everyone was screaming; everyone was running.”
Russian investigators said the death toll was more than 60 people. Health officials said about 145 people were injured, including about 60 in critical condition.
In the 2004 Beslan school siege, Islamic militants took more than 1,000 people hostage, including hundreds of children.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been updated on the situation by security chiefs, including Alexander Bortnikov, head of the Federal Security Service (FSB), the Kremlin said.
Russian investigators released images of a Kalashnikov automatic weapon, vests with multiple spare magazines and bags of spent shell casings.
ISLAMIC STATE
Islamic State, the militant group that once sought control over swaths of Iraq and Syria, claimed responsibility for the attack, the group’s Amaq agency on Telegram said.
Some Russian media published a grainy photo of two of the alleged attackers in a white car.
The fate of the attackers was unclear as firefighters battled a huge blaze and emergency services evacuated hundreds of people while parts of the venue’s roof collapsed.
Islamic State said its fighters attacked on the outskirts of Moscow, “killing and wounding hundreds of people and causing great destruction at the location before they retreated safely to their bases.” The statement provided no further details.
The United States has intelligence information that confirms Islamic State’s claim to be responsible for the shooting, a U.S. official said Friday. The official said Washington had warned Moscow in recent weeks of the possibility of an attack.
“We adequately warned the Russians,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity, without providing further details.
Russia has yet to say who it believes is responsible.
The attack on the Crocus town hall, about 20km from the Kremlin, comes just two weeks after the US embassy in Russia warned that “extremists” had imminent plans for an attack on Moscow.
Hours before the embassy alert, the FSB said it had foiled an attack on a Moscow synagogue by an organization affiliated with the Islamic State in Afghanistan, known as ISIS-Khorasan or ISIS-K, and was seeking a caliphate in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Iran.
Putin changed the course of the Syrian civil war by intervening in 2015, supporting President Bashar al-Assad against the opposition and the Islamic State.
“ISIS-K has fixated on Russia for the past two years, often criticizing Putin in its propaganda,” said Colin Clarke of the Soufan Center.
The broader Islamic State group has claimed deadly attacks in the Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Europe, the Philippines and Sri Lanka.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said it was a “bloody terrorist attack” that the whole world should condemn.
The United States, European and Arab powers and many former Soviet republics expressed shock and sent their condolences. Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak denied any Ukrainian involvement.
The United Nations Security Council condemned what it called a “heinous and cowardly terrorist attack.”
ENHANCED SECURITY
Russia has tightened security at airports, transport hubs and across the capital, a vast urban area of more than 21 million people. All large-scale public events have been canceled across the country.
Putin, who was re-elected to a new six-year term on Sunday, has sent thousands of troops to Ukraine in 2022 and has repeatedly warned that various powers – including Western countries – are trying to sow chaos in Russia.
Putin was informed in the first minutes of the attack and is regularly updated, the Kremlin said.
“The president constantly receives information about what is happening and the measures taken through all relevant services. The head of state has given all the necessary instructions,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
At Crocus City Hall, flames soared into the sky and plumes of black smoke rose above the venue as hundreds of blue emergency vehicle lights flashed into the night.
Helicopters tried to put out the flames that engulfed the large building. The roof of the venue was collapsing, state news agency RIA said.
“Today a terrible tragedy occurred in the Crocus City shopping center,” Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said. “I feel sorry for the loved ones of the victims.”