Moscow terror attack: 28 bodies found in toilet; Vladimir Putin makes ‘Ukraine window’ claim

Russia on Saturday arrested four men who allegedly sprayed bullets into a concert hall in Moscow, leading to the deaths of 133 people and grievous injuries to at least 107 others.

Terrorist group ISIS has claimed responsibility for the dastardly attack. Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials said their war-ravaged country wasn’t behind the attack. However, Russian authorities have claimed the attackers had help from Ukraine.

Russian authorities had earlier said 143 people died in the shooting; however, later, they said 133 bodies had been found in over 24 hours of search. 107 people are fighting for their lives in hospitals.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the authorities have detained 11 people, including the four gunmen. He said they tried to hide and moved towards Ukraine. “They tried to hide and moved towards Ukraine, where, according to preliminary data, a window was prepared for them on the Ukrainian side to cross the state border,” he said.

Russia’s FSB security service said the gunmen had contacts in Ukraine and were captured near the border. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said it was typical of Putin and “other thugs” to seek to divert blame.

Ukrainian military intelligence spokesperson Andriy Yusov told Reuters that his country wasn’t involved in this terror attack. He said the country had been defending itself against Russian invasion and it had been fighting against the occupiers’ army, not civilians.

Putin, in his address, vowed to punish all the perpetrators and organisers of the attack. “We will identify and punish everyone who stands behind the terrorists, who prepared this atrocity, this strike against Russia, against our people,” he said.

The United States’ White House said the US government shared information with Russia about a planned attack in Moscow. US National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said on Saturday that there was no “Ukrainian involvement whatsoever”.

Some people died of gunshot wounds, whereas others in a huge fire as gunmen used petrol to set fire to the concert hall. 28 bodies were found in a toilet and 14 on a staircase. Mothers were seen clutching their children, reported Russian media.

Russian lawmaker Alexander Khinshtein said the attackers fled in a Renault vehicle that was spotted by police in Bryansk region, about 340 km (210 miles) southwest of Moscow on Friday night. He said a car chase ensued after they disobeyed orders to stop. A pistol, a magazine for an assault rifle, and passports from Tajikistan were found in the car.

TV editor Simonyan published a video showing one of the suspects, a young, bearded man, being interrogated aggressively by a roadside, replying in heavily accented Russian to a series of barked questions. He said he had flown from Turkey on March 4 and had received instructions from unknown people via Telegram to carry out the attack in exchange for money.

The Islamic State (ISIS) said its fighters, after killing hundreds and causing great destruction, withdrew to their bases safely. The US officials have told news outlets that the Joe Biden administration had no reason to doubt ISIS’s claim of responsibility.

“The United States strongly condemns the heinous terrorist attack in Moscow,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement Saturday. “ISIS is a common terrorist enemy that must be defeated everywhere.”