Latest
RUSSIA BLEEDS
At least 133 people dead including children as ISIS gunmen storm & set fire to concert hall in Moscow terror attack
Watch The Sun's Foreign Editor Nick Parker explain the horrific events last night in Moscow
AT least 133 people have been killed and over 121 wounded after ISIS gunmen stormed a concert hall in a bloody massacre on the outskirts of Moscow.
Russia this morning is facing the horrific aftermath of its deadliest terrorist attack in 20 years.
19
19
19
19
19
19
Masked men in camouflage gear wielding automatic weapons stormed the Crocus City Hall last night - opening fire and hurling explosives into a crowd.
Some 6,000 people are believed to have been inside the venue watching Russian rock band Picnic when the bloodshed began.
The gunmen began shooting civilians at point-blank range - through glass doors, turnstiles and then the concert hall itself, traumatised witnesses said.
Devastating footage showed piles of bodies outside the blackened concert venue on the western edge of Moscow.
Read more world news
Three children were killed in the attack and four more are in hospital.
Firefighters and emergency workers are now facing the grim task of going through the smouldering ruins to potentially find even more victims.
The death toll continues to rise as more bodies are dragged from the rubble in an operation that could least "at least a few more days", Moscow's governor said.
Russia's security service (FSB) launched a massive manhunt to catch those responsible and have now detained 11 suspects, including four it says were "directly" involved in last night's attack.
Most read in The Sun
Two were apprehended after a car chase and two others fled into a forest before being detained - all four have been named and pictured by the FSB.
US officials claim they have intelligence to confirm the plot was masterminded by the ISIS splinter cell operating in Afghanistan, known as ISIS -K.
Moscow concert hall shooting- At least three gunmen 'in camouflage' open fire on crowd as huge venue is engulfed in flames with deaths reported
The Islamic State have since claimed responsibility for the massacre.
In a statement on Telegram, they wrote: "IS fighters attacked a large gathering" before they had "retreated to their bases safely".
Vladimir Putin addressed the Russian people at midday, slamming the attack as "barbaric" and attempting to blame it on Ukraine.
However, it emerged that the despot rubbished warnings from the US and UK about an "imminent" terror attack just three days before.
However, Russia has not yet confirmed the group behind the attack and were quick to attempt to blame Ukraine for the atrocity.
British and US intelligence services warned the Kremlin at the start of this month of the threat of a terror attack on Moscow - something the Kremlin sought to downplay, describing it as "provocative".
What we know so far:
- At least 133 dead and more than 121 injured in the terrorist attack in Moscow
- Gunmen armed with automatic weapons & explosives stormed the Crocus City Hall last night at 8pm local time
- Some 6,000 fans were gathered to watch Russian rock band Picnic
- Fires were set in the venue and burned out of control - hampering the rescue mission
- Russia has arrested the four suspected gunmen
- A faction of ISIS have claimed responsibility for Russia's worst terror attack in 20 years
- Ukraine has denied anything to do with the massacre
- US and British intelligence warned Russia weeks before about the threat of an 'imminent' attack - but were dismissed
Russia's tyrannical leader Putin wished victims a "speedy recovery" in a statement shared by deputy prime minister Tatyana Golikova.
The terrorist attack comes just weeks after he was elected in a sham vote to serve his fifth term as Russia's president.
The vile attack will no doubt immediately throw a major challenge to his rule.
19
19
19
19
19
19
Ukraine was quick to deny any involvement in the attack despite early accusations by the Russians - and initially claimed it was a false flag attack to stoke tensions.
In a statement, Ukraine's foreign ministry said: "There are no red lines for Putin's dictatorship. It is ready to kill its own citizens for political purposes."
However, the FSB have claimed the suspected gunmen were heading towards Russia's border with Ukraine when they were arrested.
Putin's spooks also suggested the attackers had contacts on the Ukrainian side - but there is no current evidence to back up such an allegation.
UK Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron this morning condemned the deadly terror attack.
He wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "We offer our heartfelt condolences and express our deepest sympathy to the families of the many victims. Nothing can ever justify such horrific violence."
Over 120 people are still in hospital with the conditions of 44 survivors described as "serious".
Cops last night managed to evacuate over 100 people hiding in the basement of the concert hall.
Look how it burns. There are people inside.
A witness
Some of the attackers barricaded themselves inside the venue, making rescue efforts difficult as the fire burned.
Explosions were reported at the venue while panicked people were seen fleeing as the gunmen are believed to have taken hostages.
One witness said: “We huddled in a corner at the entrance. He [gunman] came up and started shooting directly at people.
“They had black hair. They were shouting at each other and it was not Russian speech.”
Another woman told how she feigned being shot - which saved her life.
She said: “They [the terrorists] were standing at the exit, we didn't go there, but they saw us."
“One of them came running back and started shooting at us.
“I fell on the floor, and pretended to die. A girl next to me was killed.
“Then a fire started .“They [the terrorists] closed the door, but I guess they couldn't lock it. I lay under the door and breathed the air coming through there."
The attackers reportedly emerged from the underground car park and accessed the building.
Opened in October 2009, Crocus City Hall is located in the city's Krasnogorsky District.
A witness told RIA Novosti: “People in the hall lay down on the floor to escape the shooting, lay there for 15-20 minutes, after which they began to crawl out. Many managed to get out.”
Another said: "Look how it burns. There are people inside".
Masked gunmen set fire to chairs, which led to flames spreading throughout the building, reports say.
One witness said: “Nothing was announced at first. We were already lying on the floor between the chairs.
“They said nothing, absolutely nothing. We just lay there and didn't know what to do. We just took our seats [when the shooting started].
“It was literally 8pm, 8.05, or 8.10. Shooting started from further away, from above.
“We sat on the very top row. At first everything was ok, it was kind of unclear what it was.
“Then we realised that something was wrong when we noticed that the ticket takers with these walkie-talkies began to run from top to bottom.
“The shooting started all over again, we heard it from above, we were sitting, then we heard it, we started moving all the way down, we realised that they were also shooting below.
19
19
19
19
The Return of ISIS
ISIS's infamous black flag is feared to be rising once again - with the attack on the Moscow hall being one of their bloodiest since they were defeated in the Middle East.
The terrorist groups attacks sparked horror around the world for years - and their violent videos showing beheadings, burnings and other executions shocked society to its core.
But it is feared that following on from the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan and the crisis in the Middle East following the October 7 massacre, the group is gathering strength.
US General Joel Vowell - who leads America's efforts abroad to squash ISIS - warned that the threat of a suspected attack has risen 200 per cent in the last three months.
He has headed the ten year US-led coalition Operation Inherent Resolve against ISIS, which saw Western troops stationed in Iraq and Syria - two hotbeds of the terror group's activity.
In January he met with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to talk about removing US troops from Iraq - but instead issued a disturbing message.
The Middle East expert explained that ISIS cells have been rallying their forces in the background, "in Syria and Iraq in the last 60 days in particular”.
Hamas, a Palestinian Islamist extremist movement, launched a brutal attack on Israel’s border in the early hours of October 7, 2023 dubbed Israel's "9/11" - killing over 1200 people.
Extremist Islamist groups including the Houthis and Hezbollah have aimed attacks at the US and the UK, citing support of Israel - because of their war against Hamas.
Professor Anthony Glees told The Sun that the Western world now faces threats “from all sides” - and that the fight against Hamas, the Houthis and Hezbollah shouldn’t detract from efforts to protect ourselves from older terrorist threats like ISIS.
“I absolutely think we are being assailed from all sides. That makes us vulnerable. And when you're vulnerable, you get bullied and attacked.”
The security expert also told The Sun that he “absolutely” thinks it's possible that we could be looking at a new wave of a terrorist threat like those seen over the last 20 years.
The raging threat of terror groups like Hamas, the Houthis and Hezbollah could be combined with attacks by organisations like ISIS on UK soil.
Glees claimed that the events of October 7 and the ensuing war has “provided that spark”.
Ex-US General Ben Hodges said: "The UK is in a pre-war environment. That means war is coming."
Met Police commissioner Mark Rowley warned this time last year that Britain that the UK has tens of thousands of potential terrorists hiding in plain sight.
Sir Rowley warned that they were on the security services radar, and would need just a “spark” to act on their extremist beliefs.
“We lay down at the bottom, in the middle, or rather somewhere on the floor, then we realised that all the people were going upstairs, and we started moving up.
“We eventually got out somewhere at the top. We began to go down the escalators. In short, we hid.
“They were shooting from all sides, just from all of them.
“We lay there, then noticed that people were somehow running down the escalator. We ran after them. There was one girl lying there."
An anonymous eyewitness that many children had been performing in a ballroom dancing competition when the shooting started.
“Children and teenagers were at the competition. People came and said there was shooting. A crush ensued. The children were running out in their ballroom gowns,” they said.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin branded the attack a "terrible tragedy" and said all public events including sports and culture will be cancelled in Moscow this weekend.
He said: “Today a terrible tragedy occurred in the Crocus City shopping centre.
“My condolences to the loved ones of the victims."
He gave orders to provide all necessary assistance to everyone who suffered during the incident.
Over 600 people have turned out to give blood at donation centres across Moscow so far this morning to help the wounded, Russia's health ministry has said.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said on Friday that Kyiv had nothing to do with the attack.
In a video message posted on Telegram, Podolyak said: "Let's be straight about this: Ukraine had absolutely nothing to do with these events.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
"We have a full-scale, all-out war with the Russian regular army and with the Russian Federation as a country.
"And regardless of everything, everything will be decided on the battlefield."
19
19
19
Topics