At least 60 people have been killed and 145 wounded in Russia’s worst terror attack in years, as gunmen in combat fatigues opened fire and detonated explosives in a major concert hall on the outskirts of Moscow.
State news agency Ria on Saturday quoted a spokesperson for Russia’s Investigative Committee as saying the death toll could rise and that it was too early to say anything about the fate of the attackers. About 60 people were in serious condition, health officials said.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack late on Friday, in a post on Telegram in which the group claimed its gunmen had managed to escape afterwards. A US official said Washington had intelligence confirming the Islamic State’s claim.
Photos showed Crocus City Hall engulfed in flames as videos emerged showing at least four gunmen opening fire with automatic weapons as panicked Russians fled for their lives.
In one clip, three men in fatigues carrying rifles fired at point-blank range into bodies strewn about the lobby of the concert hall.
Officials said five children were among the victims of the attack, in which the assailants also apparently detonated explosives. At least two blasts took place at the concert hall on Friday evening, news agencies reported.
By late evening, Russian authorities had launched a mass manhunt for the gunmen in the attack, warning residents in Moscow and its suburbs to look out for signs of the attackers. The Russian government did not immediately identify any of the suspects.
Video published online showed horrific scenes of some people begging for help from the roof of the concert hall as it burned behind them. Other video footage showed people screaming, crawling on their hands and knees out of the music venue or fleeing down stairwells.
One witness said he was about to settle into his seat when he heard “several machine gun bursts” and “a lot of screams”.
“I realised right away that it was automatic gunfire and understood that most likely it’s the worst: a terrorist attack”, the man, who gave his name as Alexei, told AFP.
Another concertgoer described scenes of panic as terrified people tried to escape. “A stampede began. Everyone ran to the escalator”, he told Reuters. “Everyone was screaming; everyone was running”.
At least three emergency helicopters had been deployed to extinguish the fire. There had been a partial collapse of the roof of the Crocus City Mall, local media reported. Shortly after midnight, the emergencies ministry said the fire had been contained.
An eyewitness told the Mash Telegram channel that there were “at least five” attackers and that they were “bearded”.
“They act like trained fighters”, the account read. “At the moment of entering the building, the guards and people standing at the door were killed. Then they blocked the main entrance.
“The terrorists are armed with [Kalashnikov] assault rifles. Some carried vests with various ammunition. At least two of the attackers are carrying backpacks, possibly with Molotov cocktails”.
In his first comments on the shooting, President Vladimir Putin wished all those injured in the terrorist attack a speedy recovery. The Kremlin said he was being updated by security chiefs about the situation, including from Alexander Bortnikov, the head of the Federal Security Service (FSB).
Russian investigators published pictures of a Kalashnikov automatic weapon, vests with multiple spare magazines and bags of spent bullet casings. A grainy picture was published by some Russian media of two of the alleged attackers in a white car.
Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that the Moscow government would cancel all cultural, sporting and other mass events for the weekend after the attack, as Russian railways and other major utilities said they were increasing security.
Sobyanin called the attack a “great tragedy”. At least 70 ambulances had been dispatched to the site.
Earlier this month, western countries led by the US had issued terror warnings and told their citizens not to join public gatherings in Russia.
On 8 March, the embassy wrote it was “monitoring reports that extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow, to include concerts and US citizens should be advised to avoid large gatherings over the next 48 hours”.
Islamic State said its fighters attacked on the outskirts of Moscow, “killing and wounding hundreds and causing great destruction to the place before they withdrew to their bases safely”. The statement gave no further detail.
The US had intelligence confirming Islamic State’s claim of responsibility for the shooting, a US official said, adding that Washington had warned Moscow in recent weeks of the possibility of an attack.
“We did warn the Russians appropriately”, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, without providing any additional details.
