Moscow detains 12 people, charges 8 with “terror-related crimes”
Baghdad, Iraq:
The Islamic State group said on Friday that four of its members were arrested after an attack on a concert hall near Moscow that killed 143 people, a day after Russia blamed Ukraine.
On March 22, gunmen opened fire at the Crocus City Concert Hall near Moscow, causing the venue to catch fire and injuring 80 people.
Moscow has detained 12 people and charged eight with “terror-related crimes” for their alleged involvement in the attack. Russian state media said they included four suspects from Tajikistan accused of carrying out the operation.
Although Moscow has repeatedly said the attackers were linked to “Ukrainian nationalists,” the Islamic State quickly claimed responsibility for the attack, a claim Kiev denies.
The group said in the latest edition of its Al-Nabaa weekly, published on the Telegram channel on Friday, that its militants were being hunted by ground and air forces.
Islamic State said the operation ended when the men were surrounded in a “forest”, adding that they were now “in captivity”.
A Moscow court has remanded the four main suspects until May 22, a date that may be extended until the trial.
Russia has been repeatedly targeted by Islamic State in retaliation for its crackdown on unrest in Muslim-majority areas and its support for the government of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria’s civil war.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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