MOSCOW, March 25, 2024 (AFP) – Four men accused of involvement in a massacre at a Moscow concert hall that killed 137 people were remanded in custody Sunday, as Russia observed a national day of mourning following the attack claimed by the Islamic State. All four suspects have been charged with terrorism, according to Moscow’s Basmanny district court, and face life imprisonment. Their detention is set until May 22 but may be extended depending on […]
Europe
Russian cruise missile breaches Polish airspace: army
WARSAW, March 24, 2024 (AFP) – A Russian cruise missile fired at towns in western Ukraine breached Polish airspace, Poland’s army said Sunday. For about 40 seconds, “Polish airspace was breached by one of the cruise missiles fired in the night by the air forces… of the Russian Federation,” the army wrote on social media platform X. “The object flew through Polish airspace above the village of Oserdow (Lublin province) and stayed for 39 seconds,” […]
Kyiv and Ukraine’s Lviv region come under Russian air attack
KYIV, Ukraine, March 24, 2024 (AFP) – Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and the western region of Lviv came under a “massive” Russian air attack early Sunday, officials said, and Polish forces were also placed on heightened readiness. Russia and Ukraine have been engaged in a series of deadly aerial attacks, with Sunday’s strikes also coming a day after the Russian military said it had seized the Ukrainian village of Ivanivske west of Bakhmut. A militant attack […]
President Putin vows retribution for deadly concert hall attack
MOSCOW, March 24, 2024 (AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to punish those behind the “barbaric terrorist attack” on a Moscow concert hall that killed more than 130, saying four gunmen trying to flee to Ukraine had been arrested. Kyiv has strongly denied any connection, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accusing Putin of trying to shift the blame onto them. Putin, in his first public remarks on the attack, made no reference to a […]
Islamic State posts video of Moscow concert hall attack
PARIS, March 24, 2024 (AFP) – A video apparently shot by gunmen who carried out the deadly attack on a Moscow concert hall has been posted on social media accounts typically used by the jihadist group Islamic State (IS), according to the SITE Intelligence Group. The video, which lasts a minute and a half, shows several individuals with blurred faces and garbled voices, armed with assault rifles and knives. They appear to be the lobby […]
World leaders condemn Russian concert hall attack
PARIS, March 23, 2024 (AFP) – World leaders denounced a deadly attack by gunmen on a Moscow concert hall that killed more than 90 people and wounded at least another 100. Attackers dressed in camouflage uniforms entered the Crocus City venue before the start of a rock concert on Friday, opened fire on the audience and threw flammable liquid, according to a journalist for the RIA Novosti news agency at the scene. The assault was […]
Afghan IS branch top suspect in Moscow attack
By Didier LAURAS PARIS, March 23, 2024 (AFP) – The Islamic State group (IS) has claimed responsibility for Friday’s attack on a Moscow concert hall that killed more than 100 people — terrorism experts say its Afghan branch is likely responsible. Since the fundamentalist Taliban took over Kabul, the ISKP — the Afghan branch of IS — has managed to poach members from its rival movement and has repeatedly shown off its will and capability […]
Russia arrests concert hall gunmen as death toll rises to 115
MOSCOW, March 23, 2024 (AFP) – Russia on Saturday said it had arrested 11 people — including four gunmen — over the attack on a Moscow concert hall claimed by the Islamic State, as the death toll rose to 115. Russian President Vladimir Putin was yet to comment publicly on the attack and Moscow has not addressed the Islamic State’s claim of responsibility, even as some lawmakers pointed to a possible Ukraine connection. Camouflaged gunmen […]
Gun attack at Moscow concert leaves more than 60 dead
KRASNOGORSK, Russia, March 23, 2024 (AFP) – Gunmen who opened fire at a Moscow concert hall killed more than 60 people and wounded over 100 while sparking an inferno, authorities said Saturday, with the Islamic State group claiming responsibility. Attackers dressed in camouflage uniforms entered the building on Friday, opened fire and threw a grenade or incendiary bomb, according to a journalist for the RIA Novosti news agency at the scene. Fire quickly spread through […]
Putin receiving updates on Moscow attack: spokesman
MOSCOW, March 22, 2024 (AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin is receiving “constant” updates about the attack on a concert hall outside Moscow that left dozens dead on Friday, his spokesman said. “The President is constantly being informed by all relevant services about what is happening and the measures being taken,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agencies.
Russia will destroy Kyiv officials if linked to Moscow attack: Medvedev
MOSCOW, March 22, 2024 (AFP) – Russia will find and destroy Ukraine’s top officials if they are linked to the gun attack outside Moscow that left dozens dead on Friday, former president Dmitry Medvedev said. “If it is established that these are terrorists of the Kyiv regime … all of them must be found and ruthlessly destroyed as terrorists,” Medvedev wrote in a post on Telegram, adding that “official representatives of the state that committed […]
Catherine, Princess of Wales, announces cancer diagnosis
A message from Catherine, The Princess of Wales pic.twitter.com/5LQT1qGarK — The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) March 22, 2024 By Phil HAZLEWOOD LONDON, March 22, 2024 (AFP) – Catherine, Princess of Wales, on Friday announced that she has cancer and is in the early stages of chemotherapy, asking for “time, space and privacy” as she completes her treatment. Kate, as she is widely known, said the discovery of cancer, after successful abdominal surgery […]