[criminal terrorist photo credit: Pixabay]

On March 25th 2024, hundreds of innocent civilians enjoying their time at a Concert Hall in Moscow Crocus City Hall came under attack by an ISIS-affiliated terrorist group, leaving a total 144 people dead and many others injured.

Attackers armed with guns and incendiary devices opened fire at random at the Crocus City complex - home to a popular music hall and shopping center - on Friday night.

A survivor, who chose to remain unidentified, said that the gunmen entered the concert hall and “started shooting everyone.

Currently, violent footage captured by the terrorist group and the survivors are surfacing on the internet.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told senior officials, "we know that the crime was committed by the hands of radical Islamists, followers of an ideology that the Islamic world itself has been fighting against for centuries."

However, Vladimir Putin asserts that the gunmen were caught whilst fleeing to Ukraine, and accused the gunmen of having relations with Ukraine.

This accusation is especially serious due to the ongoing Ukraine Conflict.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed the claim, saying it was "absolutely predictable" that Vladimir Putin would blame it on Ukraine "instead of dealing with his Russian citizens, addressing them."

Zelensky vehemently denies any involvement in the assault in Crocus City Hall Music Venue in Krasnogorsk swiftly dismissing the Russian claims as "absolutely untenable and absurd."

Instead the Islamic State Group’s Afghanistan affiliate claims responsibility for the attack.

It has also been reported that the gunmen involved in the assault are affiliated with the ISIS group.

This was later confirmed by U.S intelligence officials who confirmed the claim.

“ISIS bears sole responsibility for this attack. There was no Ukrainian involvement whatsoever,” stated National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson.

According to the Russian Health Minister Mikhali Muashko, the death toll continues to rise g as the injured victims slowly die in hospitals. Initially, there were a total of 130 deaths. However, as of now the total deaths have increased to 144.

Russian officials were able to arrest 4 of the gunmen.

All four appeared to have been beaten and one was brought to court in a wheelchair.

They were charged with committing an act of terrorism.

The four suspects were identified by Russian authorities as Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev, Saidakrami Murodali Rachabalizoda, Shamsidin Fariduni and Muhammadsobir Fayzov.

Mirzoyev and Rachabalizoda displayed signs of physical abuse such as having black eyes and heavily bandaged ears - reportedly due to it being severed during his arrest.

Videos of the brutal interrogation were leaked by Russian security forces, which presented footage of one of them being electrically shocked.

However, when questioned about the footage Russian officials made no comment on involvement in the torture footages.

Furthermore, their signs of torture make their testimonies hard to truely believe as they could’ve been forced to plead guilty in court.

In addition to this, Russian authorities have arrested Ten others in Russia suspected of aiding the attack.

This unexpected event created an uproar from the public and instilled fear in the local citizens. The Russian officials are currently doing everything they can to mitigate attacks.