The Moscow Concert Hall Attackers Have Links To Ukraine: Russian Security Service

The death toll in the Moscow concert hall shooting leapt to 115. The police arrested 11 people in connection with the attack, including four gunmen. Militant Islamist group Islamic State claimed responsibility of the attack, Russian security agency says the attackers have Ukrainian link, despite Kyiv said it have nothing to do with the attack.

The security service said “all four terrorists” were attacked while they were driving towards Ukrainian border, and they had contacts in Ukraine, said Reuters.

Alexander Khinshtein, a Russian lawmaker said the attackers fled in a Renault vehicle which was spotted by police in Bryansk region. Tow of the four arrested were caught after a car chase and two others fled to a forest nearby, who were later detained.

The lawmaker said, a pistol, a magazine for an assault rifle and passports from Tajikistan were found from the vehicle. Tajikistan is a Muslim central Asian state which used to be part of the Soviet Union.

Several countries including India, France, Spain, Italy and the European Union condemned the attack on Moscow’s Corcus City Hall. Ukraine said Kyiv had “nothing to do” with the attack. The country’s military intelligence called the attack as a Russian “provocation” and said that Moscow special services were behind the attack.

US embassy had warned that there was a risk of “extremists” targeting mass gatherings in Moscow, including concerts, two weeks before, said the White House National Security Council, Adrienne Watson. “Earlier this month, the US government had information about a planned terrorist attack in Moscow – potentially targeting large gatherings, to include concerts – which prompted the State Department to issue a public advisory to Americans in Russia. The US government also shared this information with Russian authorities in accordance with its longstanding ‘duty to warn’ policy”, she said.