INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday vowed to punish those behind a "barbaric terrorist attack" on a Moscow concert hall that killed
at least 133, 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 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 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
on Russia in almost two decades and the deadliest in Europe to have been claimed by the Islamic State.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.'Barbaric'Calling the attack a "barbaric, terrorist act," Putin
said "all four direct perpetrators...all those who shot and killed people, have been found and detained.""They tried to escape and were
travelling towards Ukraine, where, according to preliminary data, a window was prepared for them on the Ukrainian side to cross the state
border," he added.Putin also compared the attackers to "Nazis" and said the attack was an "atrocity, a strike against Russia and our
people."He named Sunday a day of national mourning.Russia arrested 11 people in connection with the attack on Saturday, the FSB security
said earlier Saturday that the assailants had "contacts" in Ukraine, without providing further details.Kyiv, facing a Russian military
offensive for the past two years, said it had "nothing to do" with the attack, presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak said in a statement.At
least 133 killedRussia's Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said rescue workers were still working on site on Saturday,
pulling bodies from the burnt-out building."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, according to Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry.The Islamic State group
claimed responsibility on Friday, saying its fighters attacked "a large gathering" on Moscow's outskirts and "retreated to their bases
safely".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, "immobilizing" the gunman and "saving the lives of people around him."Blood queuesPutin did not address the Islamic State's
claim of responsibility in his first public remarks on Saturday, more than 18 hours after the start of the attack.The head of the state-run
RT media outlet, Margarita Simonyan, on Saturday posted two videos claiming to be interrogations of two handcuffed suspects, who both
news agency that authorities were "in close contact" with Moscow about the "supposed participation of the country's citizens in the
terrorist attack."In Moscow, residents stood in long lines in the rain to donate blood for those hospitalized, according to videos posted by
state media outlets.Memorial posters featuring a single candle replaced some advertising billboards, the RIA Novosti state agency
reported.Major events were cancelled across the country, including a friendly football match between Russia and Paraguay set to take place
in Moscow on Monday.Statements of condemnation from world leaders continued to roll in.U.S
had publicly dismissed Western warnings of an imminent attack in Moscow as propaganda designed to scare Russian citizens.On 7 March, the U.S
Embassy in Russia had issued a security alert saying it was "monitoring reports that extremists have imminent plans to target large
gatherings in Moscow, to include concerts."Washington on Friday said it had directly warned Russian authorities about a "planned terrorist
attack" possibly targeting "large gatherings" in Moscow.But speaking to FSB chiefs last Tuesday, Putin said: "Recent provocative statements
by a number of official Westerns structures about the possibility of terrorist attacks in Russia...resembles outright blackmail and an
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