U.S. officials say American intelligence agencies had gathered information in recent weeks that ISIS was planning an attack in Moscow – but the warnings were dismissed by Russia’s President Putin who described them as ‘provocative’.
A U.S. intelligence official described how American intelligence agencies learned how a cell of ISIS based in Afghanistan was planning an attack in Moscow and shared the information with Russian officials.
Putin dismissed the alerts as an attempt to intimidate Russians .
U.S. officials say that the information was privately shared as recently as three days before gunmen burst into a large concert hall on Friday night, spraying the crowd with gunfire, killing more than 60 people.
The brazen attack injured more than 100 and set fire to the Crocus City Hall venue in the Russian capital.
U.S. intelligence agencies shared information indicating that ISIS was plotting an attack in Moscow but Russia’s President Putin disregarded the warnings
Putin labeled the warnings as ‘provocative’ – the attack resulted in more than 60 fatalities and over 100 injured at a concert hall
Medics transport a body of a victim a waiting ambulance near the burning building of the Crocus City Hall on the western edge of Moscow
Earlier in March, the US embassy in Moscow also issued a security alert.
It warned about a potential terror attack in Moscow and urging people to avoid crowds and be aware of their surroundings.
‘The Embassy is monitoring reports that extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow, to include concerts, and U.S. citizens should be advised to avoid large gatherings over the next 48 hours,’ the March 7 security alert stated.
Concerts were specifically mentioned as a potential target in the US security alert.
It is not clear what prompted the warning or whether it was related to Friday night’s attack.
The US gave the intelligence to Russia under the Duty to Warn requirement – an intelligence community requirement to notify US and non-US groups of potential impending threats.
Earlier this week – and several weeks after the warnings had been issued – Putin said the warnings were ‘provocative.’
Several gunmen burst into a big concert hall in Moscow and fired automatic weapons at the crowd, injuring more than 100 people and setting a massive blaze in an apparent terror attack
Social media footage shows as gunmen dressed in camouflage clothing opening fire with automatic weapons at people in the Crocus City Hall music venue near Moscow
Gunmen can be seen shooting in a concert hall on the western edge of Moscow on Friday night
People gather near the Crocus City Hall. Early reports indicated at least 60 people were killed with many more wounded when several gunmen opened fire on the venue
A massive blaze is seen over the Crocus City Hall on the western edge of Moscow, Russia
A fire rages inside the Crocus City Hall in Krasnororsk, Russia
On Friday the US embassy issued another alert on saying it was ‘aware’ of the attack and urged Americans to avoid the area.
‘We strongly condemn the horrendous attack carried out at a concert hall in Moscow. We express our deepest sympathies with the families of the victims,’ Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB, has called the incident a ‘terrorist attack.’
“All this resembles outright blackmail and the intention to intimidate and destabilize our society,” President Putin said in a statement on Friday.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on affiliated channels on social media.
It wasn’t immediately clear what happened to the attackers after the raid.
The attack, which left the concert hall in flames with a collapsing roof, was the deadliest in Russia in years and came as the country’s war in Ukraine dragged into a third year.
People lay flowers and lit candles in memory of the Moscow concert gun attack victims
Rescuers work near the burning Crocus City Hall concert venue following the shootings
A massive blaze is seen over the Crocus City Hall on Friday night following the terrorist attack
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin called the raid a ‘huge tragedy.’
The Kremlin said Putin was informed minutes after the assailants burst into Crocus City Hall, a large music venue on Moscow’s western edge that can accommodate 6,200 people.
The attack took place as crowds gathered for a performance by the Russian rock band Picnic.
Video showed the building on fire, with a huge cloud of smoke rising through the night sky.
The street was lit up by the blinking blue lights of dozens of firetrucks, ambulances and other emergency vehicles, as fire helicopters buzzed overhead to dump water on the blaze that took hours to contain.
On social media, graphic videos were posted purporting to show the attack unfolding with gunshots and screams of concertgoers heard.
Shortly after Friday’s attack, ISIS claimed responsibility, according to a post on Telegram from a new agency affiliated with the terrorist group.
US officials later confirmed that a branch of ISIS, Islamic State-Khorasan or ISIS-K, was responsible and had been planning at attack.
ISIS-K had been known to operate in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran, and was active inside Russia, two US officials told The Washington Post.
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