Islamic State (IS) confirmed on Friday the arrest of four members in Russia believed to be responsible for the attack near Moscow. “Four fighters who are soldiers of the caliphate” attacked the Crocus town hall on March 22, a report said.
A caliphate is the rule, office or empire of a caliph, i.e. a “successor” or “representative” of God. Three of the IS members are said to have used machine guns, and the fourth was ordered to light the fire. There was then a pursuit by Russian troops on the ground and from the air. The men were “surrounded” in a forest, the Telegram message said.
More arrests in Tajikistan
Meanwhile, nine people have been arrested in Tajikistan in connection with the attack. They are said to have ties to the suspects and to an offshoot of the jihadist militia IS. After Friday’s attack last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Tajik counterpart Emomali Rahmon agreed during a telephone conversation on closer cooperation in the fight against terrorism. Rahmon said that terror knows no nationality or religion. Tajikistan is considered a haven for Islamist terrorists. According to Russian media, the suspected gunmen also had Tajik passports with them.
Eight people are now in custody and a further eleven arrests and arrest warrants are understood to have been made. The Kremlin is accused of torturing four defendants. In court they showed serious facial injuries.
More than 144 dead, 382 injured
As reported, at least 144 people were killed and another 382 injured in the attack on the event hall in the Moscow suburb of Krasnogorsk. It was the worst attack in Russia in the past twenty years. Although IS claimed responsibility for the attack immediately after the attack, Russian authorities and services continue to spread the version that the attackers had ties to Ukraine. The Ukrainian government rejects this.
Western experts consider the terrorist militia’s confession credible (see video above). The responsibility letter stated that the attack near Moscow was part of the war with “countries that fight Islam.”
Source: Krone
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