INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
An attack by gunmen on a Moscow suburban concert hall Friday left at least 139 dead, according to Russian authorities.Here is what we know
about the attack on the Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk ahead of a concert by the Piknik rock band:Four attackersThe attack began around
before the start of a concert by the popular Soviet-era band.Four camouflaged gunmen stormed the building, firing on concert-goers with
automatic weapons before setting fire to the venue, according to investigators, trapping many inside.More than 5,000 people were in the
concert hall at the time of the attack.Russian social media channels close to the security services showed videos of at least two men
Others showed bodies and groups of screaming people rushing towards exits.Scores of people hid in the hall or rushed towards entrances to
the basement or roof to escape the bullets.TollAt least 139 people were killed, and officials expect the death toll to rise further, with
rescuers still searching the site for remains.Another 97 people are still in hospital.The emergency situations ministry said fire services
helped about 100 people escape through the basement of the concert hall, while rescue operations were launched to reach those on the
roof.TASS news agency said that all of the Piknik group had been evacuated safely.IS claims responsibilityThe Islamic State group has
claimed responsibility for the attack, and IS-affiliated media channels have published graphic videos of the gunmen inside the venue.Russian
Moscow invaded in February 2022.Russia's FSB security service said some of the perpetrators had fled towards the Ukraine border, adding that
the assailants had "appropriate contacts" in the country.Ukraine meanwhile accused the Kremlin of orchestrating the attack and justifying an
escalation in the war, and said the accusations against the country were to "further fuel anti-Ukrainian hysteria in Russian
society."Suspects heldThe Kremlin said 11 people, including the four assailants, had been arrested.One of those detained has Russian
Moscow court before dozens of reporters on Monday.They were identified as citizens of Tajikistan.The court said two had pleaded guilty.In
total, eight suspects have been remanded in custody over the attack, with the court saying Tuesday the latest suspect to be remanded was a
man originally from the Central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan.All of those held in custody have been charged with terrorism and face up to
Turkey shortly before the attack, and entered Russia on the same flight from Istanbul, according to a Turkish security official.Turkish
authorities rounded up scores of suspects with alleged links to IS extremists in nationwide raids on Tuesday, detaining 147
people.WarningsThe US embassy had said two weeks before the attack that there was a risk of "extremists" targeting mass gatherings in
Moscow, including concerts."If the United States had reliable information on this, it should have immediately transmitted it," said Russian
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, calling Friday's attack a "monstrous crime."Russian authorities said on March 3 that six
suspected Islamic State fighters had been killed in an operation in Ingushetia, a small Muslim-majority republic in the Caucasus
region.Russia has been the target of past attacks by Islamic militants, but also mass killings with no clear political link.
