The death toll in the terrorist attack against the Crocus City Hall concert hall in Moscow has risen to 143 - including three children - and more than a hundred injured, according to Russian sources cited by European news agencies.
The number has grown as emergency services extract lifeless bodies from the rubble of the facility, which was set on fire by the attackers and partially collapsed.
The Federal Security Service of Russia (FSB) announced this Saturdaythe arrest of 11 people allegedly linked to the attack, including four alleged persons directly responsible for the attack. The Russian government has described as falsethe claim of the attack made by the Islamic State.
The FSB indicated that the victimsboth died from gunshot wounds as well as asphyxiation as a result of the room being set on fire during the attack.
The committee had already predicted that the number of deaths will increase in the coming hours while a new report from the Russian Ministry of Health has indicated that there are about 80 hospitalized due to the attack, including 13 people in critical condition and 25 in serious condition ( including two children).
At least forty people have had to undergo emergency surgery this past night. Eight injured people have been discharged in the last few hours.
The security forces will continue throughout this Saturday with the inspection of the premises and the seizure of material evidence and the study of the recordings of the closed circuit television cameras that captured the shooting.
The agency has confirmed that the attackers used a flammable liquid during the attack to set the concert hall on fire while shooting at spectators with automatic weapons that have been discovered and seized by investigators.
The flames ended up causing part of the roof of the premises to collapse.
The surroundings of the shopping center are fully fortified by Russian security forces. However, some citizens came to the scene to leave flowers in honor of the victims.
This attack is the first serious terrorist attack in Russia since the start of the war in Ukraine more than two years ago and the largest in the Russian capital in more than a decade, since Chechen separatists kidnapped attendees of the Dubrovka theater. in 2002, a tragedy that left 170 dead.
Islamic State claims terrorist attack
The Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack this Friday. A statement posted on Telegram by the terrorist organization stated that "Islamic State fighters attacked a large gathering of Christians in the city of Krasnogorsk, on the outskirts of the Russian capital, Moscow, killing and wounding hundreds of people and causing a large destruction in place before safely retreating to their bases.
IS indicated that the Moscow massacre was due to religious reasons, which is why they had chosen a "Christian event" on the anniversary of the fall of their "caliphate."
For its part, kyiv was quick to say that it "has nothing to do" with the event: "Ukraine certainly has nothing to do with the shooting or the explosions at Crocus City Hall. It makes no sense," said the advisor to the Office of the Ukrainian Presidency Mikhailo Podoliak in a message on the social networkThe world.
The presidential advisor said suspiciously: "Ukraine has never resorted to terrorist methods" to combat Russia, while it has been "Russia itself" that on previous occasions "has attacked its own citizens to initiate 'anti-terrorist actions' against groups ethnic groups who were protesting.
"There is no doubt that the events on the outskirts of Moscow will contribute to a sharp increase in military propaganda," which will include the "justification of genocidal attacks against the civilian population of Ukraine," said President Vladimir Zelensky. .
On March 7, the United States Embassy in Moscow warned of an "imminent" risk of a terrorist attack against large gatherings in the Russian capital, and recommended that American citizens avoid crowds.
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