RUSSIA HUNTS ATTACKERS
Authorities said a hunt had been launched for the attackers and that a “terrorism” investigation had been launched.
The United Nations and the United States condemned the attack, as did the European Union and other Western countries that have sided with Ukraine since Russia’s 2022 invasion.
A statement released by the Islamic State group claimed responsibility but Russia did not immediately blame anyone. Former president Dmitry Medvedev did say, however, that Ukrainian leaders found to be involved would be “destroyed”.
The United States condemned the “horrible” events and said there was no sign of Ukrainian involvement.
Ukraine intelligence blamed “Russian special services”, saying the attack would be used to step up the war.
The Ukrainian foreign ministry said accusations against the country were “a planned provocation by the Kremlin to further fuel anti-Ukrainian hysteria in Russian society”.
WHY DID ISLAMIC STATE ATTACK MOSCOW?
Islamic State’s Afghan branch, known as Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K), is one of the most active regional affiliates of the militant group.
It has a history of attacks, including against mosques, inside and outside Afghanistan.
Experts said the group has opposed Russian President Vladimir Putin in recent years. In September 2022, ISIS-K militants claimed responsibility for a deadly suicide bombing at the Russian embassy in Kabul.
“ISIS-K has been fixated on Russia for the past two years, frequently criticising Putin in its propaganda,” said Colin Clarke of Soufan Center, a Washington-based research group.
Michael Kugelman of the Washington-based Wilson Center said that ISIS-K “sees Russia as being complicit in activities that regularly oppress Muslims”.
He added that the group also counts as members a number of Central Asian militants with their own grievances against Moscow.
WARNINGS AND DARK HISTORY OF RADICAL ATTACKS
The US embassy had said two weeks before the Moscow attack that there was a risk of “extremists” targeting mass gatherings in Moscow, including concerts.
Russian authorities announced on Mar 3 that six suspected Islamic State fighters had been killed in an operation in Ingushetia, a small Muslim-majority republic in the Caucasus region.
Russia has been the target of past attacks by Islamic militants, but also mass killings with no clear political link.
In 2002, Chechen separatist fighters took 912 people hostage in a Moscow theatre, the Dubrovka, demanding the withdrawal of Russian troops from the Caucasus republic.
Special forces attacked the theatre to end the hostage-taking and 130 people were killed, nearly all suffocated by a gas used by security forces to knock out the gunmen.
Source: CNA
