ISIS-K Claims Responsibility for Moscow Terrorist Attack
During the later hours of Friday, Mar. 22, 2024, armed assailants burst into Krasnogorsk’s Crocus City Hall, a music venue in the northwest suburb of Moscow, Russia. The attackers then set the venue ablaze through the use of Molotov cocktails, only after setting off minutes of heavy gunfire. The devastating attack left a growing death toll of 139 people while wounding over a hundred more. The incident unfolded before the Russian rock band Picnic was set to perform in front of a sold-out crowd.
All four attackers were identified as Tajik nationals and are currently being held in Russian custody. The suspects were subsequently charged with terrorism, and all four appeared in court badly bruised and seemingly beaten. One suspect, Saidakrami Rachabalizoda, showed up in court missing his right ear, while another suspect, Muhammadsobir Faizov, was brought into the courtroom in a wheelchair. The Russian court ruled that all four men would be held in pre-trial detention until at least May 22, according to BBC News.
Soon after, ISIS-K, a regional branch of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) operating primarily in Central Asia, claimed responsibility via Telegram. This came after the United States confirmed that their intelligence agencies have been warning Russian officials for weeks about the possibility of such an attack. Two weeks earlier, the U.S. Embassy in Russia put out a notice directing the public to avoid large gatherings, stating, “The Embassy is monitoring reports that extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow, to include concerts…”
Although Russian President Vladimir Putin has seemed to admit that the attack was committed by the terrorist group, blaming “radical Islamists” in a public address, the leader has also expressed that blame can be placed on another entity. “This crime can only be a link in a chain [from] those who are at war with our country since 2014,” Putin said. American officials have already come out and disputed Putin’s claims. White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby responded to Russian claims that Ukraine played a role in the attack, saying, “There was no linkage to Ukraine. This was an attack carried out by ISIS-K operatives. Period.”
Western nations have already begun to take preventative measures amid fear of rising national security risks imposed by ISIS-K. Italy has started to take steps to increase security, with special consideration given to the Vatican and Rome during Holy Week. The Italian Interior Ministry has moved to ramp up security while “paying the most attention to the places of greatest aggregation and transit of people, as well as sensitive targets.”
While Italy heightens security measures around Easter, France is seeking to bolster its own security as well before the Paris Olympics. French President Emmanuel Macron said, “This group [ISIS-K] also tried to commit several actions on our own soil.” Macron and French officials will continue to heighten national security measures in response to the ongoing threat posed by ISIS-K and other terrorist groups.
Not as concerned as other European officials, German Interior Ministry spokesperson Cornelius Funke has said that while the threat from Islamic terrorism “remains acute,” Germany’s risk assessment has not changed so far, in a statement given to ABC News.
The full geopolitical effects of the deadliest terrorist attack on Russia in decades remain to be seen. Significant foreign policy implications could follow amidst heightened tensions. This uncertainty is highlighted by Putin’s commitment to continuing the war in Ukraine and the dispute that has ensued between Russia and other Western powers over who the true culprit of this devastating attack is.