People laying bouquets of flowers in memory of the victims of the terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall concert venue.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Russian authorities on March 31 arrested three persons in the North Caucasus republic of Dagestan on charges of planning terrorist attacks, following a deadly attack on a concert hall near Moscow.

The arrests were made during an operation in Dagestan’s capital Makhachkala and in the town of Kaspiysk, around 10 km to the south, the Russian National Anti-Terrorist Committee said in a statement.

“Three criminals planning to commit a series of terrorist crimes have been arrested,” the statement added.

The announcement comes more than a week after an attack on the Crocus City Hall in Moscow’s outskirts killed at least 144 people and injured 551.

The Islamic State group (IS) has claimed the attack, while Russian authorities insist Ukraine is responsible.

An anonymous security source quoted by the RIA Novosti news agency said two suspects were “trapped” in their flat in Kaspiysk before being apprehended.

“An automatic weapon and its ammunition, as well as a ready-to-use improvised explosive device, were found during the search of the scene of the arrests,” the committee said, adding that the operation had not caused any casualties.

Twelve persons were arrested following the concert hall attack, including the four alleged assailants, who were originally from Tajikistan, a former Soviet republic in Central Asia.

On Friday evening, the Russian security services also announced that they had arrested three “nationals of a Central Asian country” who were planning a bomb attack in southwestern Russia.

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)

A massive blaze is seen over the Crocus City Hall on the western edge of Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 22, 2024. Several gunmen have burst into a big concert hall in Moscow and fired automatic weapons at the crowd, injuring an unspecified number of people and setting a massive blaze in an apparent terror attack.
| Photo Credit: AP

The U.S. has intelligence confirming Islamic State’s claim of responsibility for a deadly shooting attack at a concert near Moscow on Friday, a U.S. official told Reuters.

Here is information about the Islamic State’s Afghan branch known as ISIS-K and their motives for attacking Russia:

WHAT IS ISIS-K?

Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K), named after an old term for the region that included parts of Iran, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan, emerged in eastern Afghanistan in late 2014 and quickly established a reputation for extreme brutality.

One of the most active regional affiliates of the Islamic State militant group, ISIS-K has seen its membership decline since peaking around 2018. The Taliban and U.S. forces inflicted heavy losses.

The United States has said its ability to develop intelligence against extremist groups in Afghanistan such as ISIS-K has been reduced since the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country in 2021.

WHAT ATTACKS HAS THE GROUP CARRIED OUT?

ISIS-K has a history of attacks, including against mosques, inside and outside Afghanistan.

Earlier this year, the U.S. intercepted communications confirming the group carried out twin bombings in Iran that killed nearly 100 people.

In September 2022, ISIS-K militants claimed responsibility for a deadly suicide bombing at the Russian embassy in Kabul.

The group was responsible for an attack on Kabul’s international airport in 2021 that killed 13 U.S. troops and scores of civilians during the chaotic U.S. evacuation from the country.

Earlier this month, the top U.S. general in the Middle East said ISIS-K could attack U.S. and Western interests outside of Afghanistan “in as little as six months and with little to no warning.”

WHY WOULD THEY ATTACK RUSSIA?

While the attack by ISIS-K in Russia on March 22 was a dramatic escalation, experts said the group has opposed Russian President Vladimir Putin in recent years.

“ISIS-K has been fixated on Russia for the past two years, frequently criticizing Mr. 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.

Moscow:

Russia is reeling from a mass shooting and blaze at a Moscow rock concert, which the government has labelled a “terrorist attack”.

Here AFP looks back at previous attacks on the city in the past 25 years.

– Apartment building bombed, 118 dead (1999) –

A bomb blast in the early hours of September 13, 1999 at an eight-storey apartment building in southeast Moscow kills 118 people.

The attack was one of five on apartment buildings that left a total of 293 people dead over a two-week period in Moscow and southern Russia

Moscow blames the attacks on separatist “terrorists” from the mainly Muslim North Caucasus republic of Chechnya.

President Vladimir Putin uses the attacks to justify launching a campaign to crush a separatist insurgency in Chechnya.

– Theatre hostage crisis, 130 dead (2002) –

A group of 21 male and 19 female Chechen rebels storm Moscow’s Dubrovka theatre on October 23, 2002 during a musical and take more than 800 people hostage.

The standoff with security forces lasts two days and three nights.

It ends when the security forces inject gas into the theatre to overpower the attackers and then storm it. A total of 130 hostages are killed. Most died by choking on the gas.

– Rock concert attack, 15 dead (2003) –

On July 5, 2003, two female suicide bombers, identified by Russia as Chechen separatists, blow themselves up during a rock concert at the Tushino airfield near Moscow, killing 15 people and injuring around 50 others.

Around 20,000 fans had come to hear some of Russia’s top bands at the annual Krylya (Wings) festival.

– Metro bombing, 41 dead (2004) –

On February 6, 2004, a little-known Chechen group detonates a bomb in a packed Moscow subway during morning rush hour, killing 41 people.

– Metro suicide attack, 40 dead (2010) –

On March 29, 2010, another two female suicide bombers blow themselves up on the Moscow subway.

Forty people are killed in the attacks, one of which targets Lubyanka station, beside the headquarters of the FSB intelligence services.

The two bombers were from the volatile North Caucasus region of Dagestan.

The Caucasus Emirate group of Chechen rebel leader Doku Umarov claims responsibility.

– Airport attack, 37 dead (2011) –

On January 24, 2011, a suicide bomber strikes in the arrivals hall of Moscow Domodedovo international airport, killing 37 people.

The Caucasus Emirate group claims responsibility for the attack.

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