On Monday, Russia refuted claims made by the United States that the militant group known as the Islamic State planned a shooting incident outside of Moscow that resulted in 137 fatalities and 182 injuries, claiming that Washington was acting on behalf of Ukraine.
Four guys opened fire on crowd members at a concert by the Soviet-era rock group Picnic on Friday night in the bloodiest attack to occur within Russia in 20 years.
Four men were remanded in detention on terrorism-related allegations; at least one of them was Tajik. They made separate appearances, escorted by Federal Security Service agents into a cage at the Basmanny district court in Moscow.
The militant group Islamic State has now released what it claims to be video from the attack. The United States has publicly said that it believes Islamic State’s claim of responsibility for the attack. Officials from the United States claimed to have alerted Russia earlier this month on intelligence of a potential strike.
The Islamist extremist group has not been officially cited by President Vladimir Putin in relation to the attackers, who he claimed were attempting to flee to Ukraine.
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According to Putin, some individuals on “the Ukrainian side” were ready to help the shooters cross the border. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Putin of trying to shift the responsibility for the attack by bringing up Ukraine, despite Ukraine’s denials of any involvement in the attack.
Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, questioned American claims that the Islamic State, which has previously attempted to seize control of large portions of both Syria and Iraq, was responsible for the attack.
She wrote that the US was using the Islamic State as a “bogeyman” to protect its “wards” in Kyiv in an article for the newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda. She also reminded readers that Washington had backed the fighters known as “mujahideen” who opposed Soviet forces in the 1980s.
On Friday, two American officials declared that the country has intelligence verifying the Islamic State’s assertion of accountability.
Later, Dmitry Peskov, the spokesperson for the Kremlin, informed reporters that due to the continuing inquiry, Russia was unable to comment on the Islamic State claim. He also declined to comment on the U.S. intelligence, citing it as confidential data.
A PORTION OF THE SUSPECT’S EAR IS SAWED OFF IN THE VIDEO
Eleven individuals, including the four alleged gunmen, were apprehended, according to Putin. The gunmen allegedly left the performance hall and traveled to the Bryansk region, located approximately 340 kilometers (210 miles) southwest of Moscow, with the intention of crossing into Ukraine.
On social media, unverified videos of the suspects being questioned went viral. It was demonstrated that one of the suspects had a portion of his ear severed and shoved into his mouth.
As the allegation of terrorism was read out, one man, a Tajik by the name of Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev, leaned against the glass cage. Saidakrami Rachabalizoda sat still, his ear wrapped in gauze.
Muhammadsobir Fayzov showed up wearing gaunt hospital scrubs, sitting in a hospital chair with cuts all over his face. With a damaged face, Shamsiddin Fariduni rose up.
Regarding the inmates’ treatment, Peskov did not respond to a question from a journalist sent to the Kremlin.
After eight years of fighting between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian Ukrainians and Russian proxies in eastern Ukraine, Putin launched a full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022, sparking a massive European war.
In an effort to drive out Russian forces, the United States and its European allies have sent billions of dollars in financial support, weaponry, and information to Ukraine.
Following the shootings in Moscow, the French government announced late on Sunday that it was upgrading its terror alert warning to the highest level.
Reuters reported; Philippa Fletcher wrote; Lincoln Feast and Kevin Liffey edited
