At least 133 people are known to have been killed at the Crocus City complex, home to a popular music hall and shopping center, according to the latest update from Russia’s Investigative Committee on Saturday.
Additionally 121 others were injured in the incident – 44 of whom are in serious condition, including two children.
Four of the men believed to be involved in the attack were taken into custody while near Russia’s border with Ukraine, the committee also said. Ukraine has strenuously denied any connection with the attack.
The militant group, ISIS, claimed responsibility for the assault in a short statement published by ISIS-affiliated Amaq news agency on Telegram on Friday. It did not provide evidence to support the claim.
American officials had warned Moscow that ISIS militants were determined to target Russia in the days before assailants stormed the concert hall, but President Vladimir Putin rejected the advice as “provocative.” His position came despite Russian authorities having reported several ISIS-related incidents within the past month.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin expressed his deep condolences in a video statement released Saturday, calling the attack a “barbaric terrorist act.”
Many world leaders have swiftly denounced the attack. British Foreign Secretary David Cameron on Saturday said “the UK condemns in the strongest terms the deadly terrorist attack” as did German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who conveyed that his nation’s “thoughts are with the families of all the victims and all those injured.”
French President Emmanuel Macron expressed solidarity with all Russians. Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council labelled the attack a “heinous and cowardly” attack.
CNN
