Putin Vows Retribution For Concert Hall Attack, As Death Toll Climbs To 133

Putin Vows Retribution For Concert Hall Attack, As Death Toll Climbs To 133

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday vowed to punish those behind a “barbaric terrorist attack” on a Moscow concert hall that killed more than 130, saying Russia had arrested four gunmen who were trying to flee to Ukraine.

Kyiv has strongly denied any connection, and Putin made no reference to claims of responsibility by the Islamic State group (IS) in his first public remarks on the attack.

At least 133 people were killed when camouflaged gunmen stormed the Crocus City Hall, in Moscow’s northern suburb of Krasnogorsk, and then set fire to the building on Friday evening.

The jihadist group has claimed the attack, writing Saturday on a Telegram channel that it was “carried out by four IS fighters armed with machine guns, a pistol, knives and firebombs,” as part of “the raging war” with “countries fighting Islam”.

It is the deadliest attack in Russia for almost two decades and the deadliest in Europe to have been claimed by IS.

Russian officials expect the death toll to rise further, with more than 100 injured in hospital.

“Terrorists, murderers, non-humans … have only one unenviable fate: retribution and oblivion,” Putin said in a televised address to the nation on Saturday.

Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said rescue workers were still pulling bodies from the burnt-out building on Saturday.

“The emergency services have found more bodies while clearing the debris,” it said in a statement on Telegram.

“The number of people killed in the terrorist attack has risen to 133. Search operations continue.”

The governor of the Moscow region said rescuers would continue to scour the site for “several days.”

Some 107 people were still in hospital, many in a critical condition, Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said.

IS had first claimed responsibility for the attack on Friday night, repeating its claim again on Saturday.

Some witnesses filmed the gunmen from the upper floors as they walked through the stalls shooting people, footage shared on social media showed.

Then “the terrorists used a flammable liquid to set fire to the concert hall’s premises, where spectators were located, including wounded,” the Investigative Committee said.

Investigators said people died both from gunshot wounds and smoke inhalation after a fire engulfed the 6,000-seater venue.

Flames quickly spread through the venue on Friday, with screaming concert-goers rushing to emergency exits.

Investigators also said they would issue an award to a man who had jumped on one of the attackers while he was shooting at the concert-goers, “immobilising” the gunman and “saving the lives of people around him”.