 "133 people were killed in the horrific incident at the Crocus City Hall concert hall outside Moscow on Sunday Image Courtesy AFP")
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and conveyed his condolences on the loss of lives in the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall in Moscow, which claimed 133 lives.
In a post on X, Mr Jaishankar stated, “Spoke to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Conveyed our deepest condolences on the loss of lives in the horrific terrorist attack in Moscow.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed solidarity with the Russian government and people on Saturday, denouncing the terror incident that took place inside a crowded Moscow music hall as a “heinous act”.
“We strongly condemn the heinous terrorist attack in Moscow. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims. India stands in solidarity with the government and the people of the Russian Federation in this hour of grief,” PM Modi posted from his X handle.
133 people were killed in the horrific incident at the Crocus City Hall concert hall outside Moscow on Sunday, according to TASS, a Russian news agency that cited the Russian Investigative Committee. The ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.
On Friday night, at Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk, on the western outskirts of the Russian capital, sad events took place. With a 7,500 capacity, the concert hall was nearly full at the time of the terrorist attacks. According to the RT news agency, the attack happened before the Russian rock group Picnic was scheduled to perform.
At least five shooters with assault rifles and military-style clothing started shooting at unarmed security guards at the venue’s main gate, according to eyewitness testimonies and mobile phone footage.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThey then started firing randomly at the terrified guests who were running from the throng. The attackers seemed to start a fire in the rows of chairs inside the performance hall as soon as they arrived, swiftly consuming most of the structure, including the roof.
According to investigators, preliminary results based on material found at the scene seem to show that the terrorists used automatic weapons and some kind of combustible substance to light the building on fire.
The Investigative Committee stated that, in light of the tangible evidence discovered at the site, it is currently conducting ballistic, genetic, and fingerprint analyses. ISIS took credit for the attack at the Russian concert venue complex, according to a CNN report.
According to a statement released on Saturday by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), TASS stated that 11 individuals, including four “terrorists,” had been seized by Russian intelligence agencies. The FSB claimed that the individuals were “directly” involved in a terrorist attack on Crocus City Hall.
“The activities of intelligence and law enforcement agencies have resulted in the detention of 11 people, including four terrorists, who directly participated in the terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall,” the statement read.
Following the attack, Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed to punish terrorists after they carried out an attack at the Crocus City Hall music venue in the city of Krasnogorsk, near Moscow, on Friday evening (local time), which claimed 115 lives.
In his televised address to the nation posted by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on X, Putin said, “Our people, our children, just like the Nazis that once killed our people during the war. They do the same. All the orchestrators, all those who are responsible for this crime will inevitably be found responsible, they will pay. We will identify everyone who stands behind these terrorists and they will pay. This is a strike against Russia.”
He said that Russia will investigate the terrorist attack and added that all four perpetrators who were directly involved in the attack were apprehended. He asserted that the investigative authorities will make every effort to identify the details of the attack. Russian President said that these criminals went specifically to kill people, “point black.”
Putin said, “We will investigate this terrorist attack and we already have some results. All the four perpetrators, who were directly involved who were gunning people down, killing people. They were found and apprehended. They tried to escape. They were moving towards the border with Ukraine and we have data that suggests that they were about to be moved towards the territory of Ukraine by those in Ukraine.”
“Our military services, our emergency services, our investigators are working on finding out the orchestrators of this terrorist attack, those who gave them transportation, who gave them weapons, etc. The investigative authorities will do everything to identify all details of this crime. But it’s already evident that we face not just a cynically organized terrorist attack, but a massive mass killing of civilians. These perpetrators, these criminals went specifically to kill, to kill people, point blank,” he added.
(With agency inputs)