Dubai:

Iran tipped off Russia about the possibility of a major “terrorist operation” on its soil ahead of the concert hall massacre near Moscow last month, three sources familiar with the matter said.

In the deadliest attack inside Russia in 20 years, gunmen opened fire with automatic weapons at concertgoers on March 22 at the Crocus City Hall, killing at least 144 people in violence claimed by the Islamic State militant group.

The United States had also warned Russia of a likely militant Islamist attack but Moscow, deeply distrustful of Washington’s intentions, played down that intelligence.

It is harder, however, for Russia to dismiss intelligence from diplomatic ally Iran on the attack, which has also raised questions over the effectiveness of Russian security services. Moscow and Tehran, both under Western sanctions, have deepened military and other cooperation during the two-year Ukraine war.

“Days before the attack in Russia, Tehran shared information with Moscow about a possible big terrorist attack inside Russia that was acquired during interrogations of those arrested in connection with deadly bombings in Iran,” one of the sources told Reuters.

Iran arrested 35 people in January, including a commander of Islamic State’s Afghanistan-based branch ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-K), who it said were linked to twin bombings on Jan. 3 in the city of Kerman that killed nearly 100 people.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the Iran blasts, the bloodiest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. U.S. intelligence sources said ISIS-K had carried out both the Jan. 3 attacks in Iran and the March 22 shootings in Moscow.

Islamic State once occupied large swathes of Iraq and Syria, imposing a reign of terror and inspiring lone-wolf attacks in Western countries, but was declared territorially defeated in 2017.

However, ISIS-K, one of its most fearsome branches, has raised the group’s profile again with large-scale bloodshed.

ISIS-K, named after an old term for a region that encompassed parts of Iran, Turkmenistan, and Afghanistan, emerged in eastern Afghanistan in late 2014 and quickly established a reputation for extreme brutality.

“Significant Operation”

A second source, who also requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, said the information Tehran provided to Moscow about an impending attack had lacked specific details regarding timing and the exact target.

“They (the members of ISIS-K) were instructed to prepare for a significant operation in Russia… One of the terrorists (arrested in Iran) said some members of the group had already travelled to Russia,” the second source said.

A third source, a senior security official, said: “As Iran has been a victim of terror attacks for years, Iranian authorities fulfilled their obligation to alert Moscow based on information acquired from those arrested terrorists.”

Asked about the Reuters report, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday: “I do not know anything about this.”

Iran’s foreign ministry did not reply to a request for comment on this story. The White House had no comment on the matter.

A source familiar with the U.S. intelligence on an impending attack in Russia said it was based on interceptions of “chatter” among ISIS-K militants.

Challenging the U.S. assertions, Russia has said it believes Ukraine was linked to the attack, without providing evidence. Kyiv has strongly denied the assertion.

Tajik Nationals

The attacks in Kerman and near Moscow both involved Tajik nationals. ISIS-K has aggressively recruited from the impoverished former Soviet republic of Tajikistan, security experts say.

Sources said Iran had discussed its security concerns with Tajikistan. A diplomatic source in Tajikistan confirmed that Tehran had recently discussed with Dushanbe the issue of increased involvement of ethnic Tajiks in militant activities.

Islamic State harbours a virulent hatred for Shi’ites — Iran’s dominant sect and also the target of its affiliate’s attacks in Afghanistan. The hardline Sunni Muslim group views Shi’ites as apostates.

In 2022 Islamic State claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on a Shi’ite shrine in Iran that killed 13 people. Tehran identified the attacker as a Tajik national.

Earlier attacks claimed by Islamic State include twin bombings in 2017 that targeted Iran’s parliament and the tomb of the Islamic Republic’s founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Moscow:

A Russian court on Friday ordered another suspect charged with “terrorism” over the deadly attack on a Moscow concert hall to be held in pre-trial detention.

Russia has detained 12 people in connection with the massacre.

They include the four men accused of having shot dozens of concert-goers and then set the Crocus City Hall venue on fire last week in the deadliest attack in Russia for two decades.

The Basmanny district court in Moscow said Friday it had ordered Nazrimad Lutfulloi, a Tajik citizen, to be held in pre-trial detention until 22 May.

Nine of the 12 people arrested by the Russian authorities have been sent to pre-trial detention. There has been no update on the other three.

The suspects face life in prison.

The Islamic State (IS) group has repeatedly claimed responsibility for the attack, its deadliest on European soil.

But Russian President Vladimir Putin has alleged a Ukrainian and Western connection.

Russia’s Investigative Committee has said it has evidence that “Ukrainian nationalists” were behind the attack and had funded the gunmen with crypto currency payments from Ukraine. 

It did not provide details of the allegations.

On Friday, it claimed the attackers had received orders from an unidentified coordinator via the Telegram messaging app, and that the gunmen had planned to flee to Ukraine to collect a reward.

Ukraine and the West have repeatedly dismissed the claims, accusing Moscow of seeking to exploit the tragedy for their own ends.

Russia’s health minister said Friday that another victim had died in hospital, taking the death count from the attack to 144.

IS on Friday issued its latest claim of responsibility when it said four of its members had been arrested after the attack.

In the latest issue of its weekly Al-Nabaa magazine published Friday on Telegram channels, the group said its fighters had been hunted down by ground and air forces and captured.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

People gather near a makeshift memorial near the Crocus City Hall following a deadly attack on the concert venue outside Moscow, Russia, March 29, 2024. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina
| Photo Credit: EVGENIA NOVOZHENINA

Nine persons have been detained by Tajikistan’s state security service over suspected contact with the perpetrators of last week’s attack by gunmen on a suburban Moscow concert hall that killed 144 people, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti said on March 29.

“Nine residents of the Vakhdat district were detained for contact with the persons who committed the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall on March 22,” the agency reported, citing information from an unnamed source in Tajikistan’s special services, who said that Russian security forces were also involved in the operation to detain the suspects.

Editorial |Terror in Moscow: On concerns over the Islamic State

Those detained are also suspected of having connections with the Islamic State group, according to RIA Novosti.

Russia’s Investigative Committee said on Thursday it had detained another suspect in relation to the raid on Crocus City Hall, on suspicion of being involved in financing the attack. It did not give further details of the suspect’s identity or alleged actions.

Russian officials previously said that 11 suspects had been arrested, including four who allegedly carried out the attack. Those four, identified as Tajik nationals, appeared in a Moscow court on Sunday on terrorism charges and showed signs of severe beatings. One appeared to be barely conscious during the hearing.

A faction of the Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the massacre. But Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, have persistently claimed, without presenting evidence, that Ukraine and the West had a role in the attack.

The Investigative Committee statement said it has “confirmed data that the perpetrators of the terrorist attack received significant amounts of money and cryptocurrency from Ukraine, which were used in preparing the crime.”

Ukraine denies involvement and its officials claim that Moscow is pushing the allegation as a pretext to intensify its fighting in Ukraine.

The death toll from the raid continues to rise, with the number of deaths increasing to 144 on Friday when a severely injured victim died in a hospital, according to Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko.

Smoke from fire rises above the burning Crocus City Hall concert venue following a shooting incident, outside Moscow, Russia on March 22, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

As Russia observes a national day of mourning after a massacre in a Moscow concert hall that killed more than 130 people, the Russian embassy in India, on March 24, opened an online book of condolence for people who wish to offer condolences to the families of the terrorist attack victims.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed to punish those behind the “barbaric terrorist attack”, saying four gunmen trying to flee to Ukraine had been arrested. The toll from the attack at the Crocus City Hall music venue near Moscow, which ISIS claimed credit for, stood at 133 on March 24, state news agency TASS reported, citing the Russian Investigative Committee.

The online book would enable people to post healing messages or express support and sympathy for the kin of the dead in the comment section. They could even do so by writing to the embassy.

“The Embassy has opened an online book of condolences for those who wish to express sympathy to the families of victims of the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack on March 22, 2024. You can write below in the comment section or send a letter to rusembindia@mid.ru,” read a post on the official X handle of the Russian Embassy in India.

(With agency inputs)

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday called an attack on a concert hall that killed more than 100 a “barbaric terrorist act” and announced a day of national mourning.

In a televised address to the nation, Putin said: “I am speaking to you today in connection with the bloody, barbaric terrorist act, the victims of which were dozens of innocent, peaceful people. … I declare 24 March a day of national mourning.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)