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At Least 133 Killed in Moscow Shooting, Islamic State Claims Responsibility

Members of the Russian Emergencies Ministry clear rubble at the Crocus City Hall concert venue after a deadly attack, outside Moscow, Russia, March 23, 2024. Photo: Russian Emergencies Ministry/Handout via REUTERS

i24 NewsMoscow Friday evening saw the nation’s largest terrorist attack in over 10 years, with at least 133 confirmed killed, including three children, and over 140 wounded.

Islamic State claimed responsibility after a squad of gunmen in combat gear opened fire and reportedly set off explosives at Crocus City Hall, a concert hall just outside of the capital. Over 600 people are said to have donated blood for the victims of the attack.

This is what “Crocus City Hall” in Moscow looks now

Rosgvardiya completed the search of parking lots, no explosives and devices were found.

A new group of special forces entered Crocus City Hall. pic.twitter.com/sM0xCeW7WV

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) March 22, 2024

The attack was followed by evacuation of malls nationwide and security enforcement at the airports and train stations. The weekend’s mass events have been canceled in Moscow and other regions of the country.

At around 11:00 a.m. local time Russian police are said to have captured two suspects. Security forces chased a car with suspects that then overturned, allowing the rest of the alleged squad to escape in the forest, Rosgvardia spokesperson and the Russian Duma depute Alexander Khinshtein said. During the operation, fire exchange was reported.

Later Russian internal intelligence FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov reported to Putin that 11 people have been detained, including 4 suspected terrorists, said the Kremlin statement.

FSB claimed that the suspects planned to cross the Russia-Ukraine border and had “relevant contacts” in Ukraine.

According to the FSB, the terrorists involved in the attack at Crocus City Hall attempted to flee toward the Russian-Ukrainian border

— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) March 23, 2024

According to a Russian oppositional media outlet Meduza citing its sources in the government, the Kremlin has distributed instructions to the state-controlled media to highlight presence of the “possible Ukrainian trace” in the incident reporting.

Russian President Vladimir Putin broke the silence 20 hours after the tragedy, vowing to provide help to all those who suffered in the attack. He echoed the claim that the gunmen were moving towards Ukraine.

“Our common duty now is to be together in one ranks. No one will be able to sow panic and discord in our society,” stated Putin.

Крупнейший теракт в Москве. Теракт, о котором предупреждали. Но ФСБ были слишком заняты борьбой с политиками, активистами и журналистами. На террористов времени не хватило.
pic.twitter.com/YQGKrzc0Xz

— Maria Pevchikh (@pevchikh) March 22, 2024

If it is established that the terrorist attack was carried out by “terrorists of the Kyiv regime,” it is impossible to deal with them and “their ideological inspirers” differently, added Medvedev.

Security officers are storming the Crocus City Hall building where several attackers have barricaded themselves.

: Beware, News pic.twitter.com/ypNuf1Z6D2

— Novaya Gazeta Europe (@novayagazeta_en) March 22, 2024

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak promptly reacted to the allegations: “Let’s be straight about this: Ukraine had absolutely nothing to do with these events.”

“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,” he added.

A representative of a pro-Ukraine Russian armed group Freedom of Russia Legion told Novaya Gazeta Europe: “It obviously wasn’t us.”

Photos from the scene of the terrorist attack in the Crocus City Hall building pic.twitter.com/9afx4RFSzj

— S p r i n t e r F a c t o r y (@Sprinterfactory) March 23, 2024

Some also drew attention the fact that on March 8, the United States warned about the possibility of a terrorist attacks in Russia within 48 hours. Putin then labeled it as “blackmail.”

After the incident, Washington denied having intelligence on any specific terrorist plans. “The images are just horrible and just hard to watch, and our thoughts obviously are going to be with the victims of this terrible, terrible shooting attack,” said the White House spokesperson John Kirby.

According to reports citing a U.S. official, American intelligence could confirm the Islamic State was behind the attack.

U.S. Republican Senator Mitt Romney also said: “The intentional targeting and murder of civilians is vile and evil regardless of the perpetrators – Putin against Ukrainians and terrorists against the Russians. Today’s massacre in Moscow is tragic.”

Germany, France, Italy, Japan, India, Georgia Venezuela, Cuba and other countries as well as Afghanistan’s Taliban all condemned the attack and expressed their condolences to the victims.

The death toll in the Moscow Crocus City Hall terror attack has reportedly risen to 62, Russian forces are working to recover bodies from the unburnt portions of the building.

Multiple people reportedly died from smoke inhalation after being trapped by the fire. pic.twitter.com/pUK4pIy0XZ

— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) March 22, 2024

Yulia Navalnaya, widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny said: “All those involved in this crime must be found and brought to justice.”

The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned “in the strongest possible terms today’s terrorist attack at a concert hall outside Moscow, in which at least 40 people were reportedly killed and over 100 others injured,” his spokesperson Farhan Haq said in a statement. Guterres “conveys his deep condolences to the bereaved families and the people and the Government of the Russian Federation,” added Haq.

Another video from today’s shooting at the “Crocus City Hall” in #Moscow pic.twitter.com/g0xD7b6PFO

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) March 22, 2024

The post At Least 133 Killed in Moscow Shooting, Islamic State Claims Responsibility first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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US House Members Ask Marco Rubio to Bar Turkey From Rejoining F-35 Program

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, April 10, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Nathan Howard

A bipartisan coalition of more than 40 US lawmakers is pressing Secretary of State Marco Rubio to prevent Turkey from rejoining the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, citing ongoing national security concerns and violations of US law.

Members of Congress on Thursday warned that lifting existing sanctions or readmitting Turkey to the US F-35 fifth-generation fighter program would “jeopardize the integrity of F-35 systems” and risk exposing sensitive US military technology to Russia. The letter pointed to Ankara’s 2017 purchase of the Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile system, despite repeated US warnings, as the central reason Turkey was expelled from the multibillion-dollar fighter jet program in 2019.

“The S-400 poses a direct threat to US aircraft, including the F-16 and F-35,” the lawmakers wrote. “If operated alongside these platforms, it risks exposing sensitive military technology to Russian intelligence.”

The group of signatories, spanning both parties, stressed that Turkey still possesses the Russian weapons systems and has shown “no willingness to comply with US law.” They urged Rubio and the Trump administration to uphold the Countering American Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) and maintain Ankara’s exclusion from the F-35 program until the S-400s are fully removed.

The letter comes after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed during a NATO summit in June that Ankara and Washington have begun discussing Turkey’s readmission into the program.

Lawmakers argued that reversing course now would undermine both US credibility and allied confidence in American defense commitments. They also warned it could disrupt development of the next-generation fighter jet announced by the administration earlier this year.

“This is not a partisan issue,” the letter emphasized. “We must continue to hold allies and adversaries alike accountable when their actions threaten US interests.”

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US Lawmakers Urge Treasury to Investigate Whether Irish Bill Targeting Israel Violates Anti-Boycott Law

A pro-Hamas demonstration in Ireland led by nationalist party Sinn Fein. Photo: Reuters/Clodagh Kilcoyne

A group of US lawmakers is calling on the Treasury Department to investigate and potentially penalize Ireland over proposed legislation targeting Israeli goods, warning that the move could trigger sanctions under longstanding US anti-boycott laws.

In a letter sent on Thursday to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, 16 Republican members of Congress expressed “serious concerns” about Ireland’s recent legislative push to ban trade with territories under Israeli administration, including the West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights.

The letter, spearheaded by Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY), called for the US to “send a clear signal” that any attempts to economically isolate Israel will “carry consequences.”

The Irish measure, introduced by Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Simon Harris, seeks to prohibit the import of goods and services originating from what the legislation refers to as “occupied Palestinian territories,” including Israeli communities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Supporters say the bill aligns with international law and human rights principles, while opponents, including the signatories of the letter, characterize it as a direct extension of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement, which seeks to isolate Israel as a step toward the destruction of the world’s lone Jewish state.

Some US lawmakers have also described the Irish bill as an example of “antisemitic hate” that could risk hurting relations between Dublin and Washington.

“Such policies not only promote economic discrimination but also create legal uncertainty for US companies operating in Ireland,” the lawmakers wrote in this week’s letter, urging Bessent to determine whether Ireland’s actions qualify as participation in an “unsanctioned international boycott” under Section 999 of the Internal Revenue Code, also known as the Ribicoff Amendment.

Under that statute, the Treasury Department is required to maintain a list of countries that pressure companies to comply with international boycotts not sanctioned by the US. Inclusion on the list carries tax-reporting burdens and possible penalties for American firms and individuals doing business in those nations.

“If the criteria are met, Ireland should be added to the boycott list,” the letter said, arguing that such a step would help protect US companies from legal exposure and reaffirm American opposition to economic efforts aimed at isolating Israel.

Legal experts have argued that if the Irish bill becomes law, it could chase American capital out of the country while also hurting companies that do business with Ireland. Under US law, it is illegal for American companies to participate in boycotts of Israel backed by foreign governments. Several US states have also gone beyond federal restrictions to pass separate measures that bar companies from receiving state contracts if they boycott Israel.

Ireland has been one of the fiercest critics of Israel on the international stage since the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel, amid the ensuing war in Gaza, leading the Jewish state to shutter its embassy in Dublin.

Last year, Ireland officially recognized a Palestinian state, a decision that Israel described as a “reward for terrorism.”

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US Families File Lawsuit Accusing UNRWA of Supporting Hamas, Hezbollah

A truck, marked with United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) logo, crosses into Egypt from Gaza, at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, during a temporary truce between Hamas and Israel, in Rafah, Egypt, Nov. 27, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

American families of victims of Hamas and Hezbollah attacks have filed a lawsuit against the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, accusing the organization of violating US antiterrorism laws by providing material support to the Islamist terror groups behind the deadly assaults.

Last week, more than 200 families filed a lawsuit in a Washington, DC district court accusing the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) of violating US antiterrorism laws by providing funding and support to Hamas and Hezbollah, both designated as foreign terrorist organizations.

The lawsuit alleges that UNRWA employs staff with direct ties to the Iran-backed terror group, including individuals allegedly involved in carrying out attacks against the Jewish state.

However, UNRWA has firmly denied the allegations, labeling them as “baseless” and condemning the lawsuit as “meritless, absurd, dangerous, and morally reprehensible.”

According to the organization, the lawsuit is part of a wider campaign of “misinformation and lawfare” targeting its work in the Gaza Strip, where it says Palestinians are enduring “mass, deliberate and forced starvation.”

The UN agency reports that more than 150,000 donors across the United States have supported its programs providing food, medical aid, education, and trauma assistance in the war-torn enclave amid the ongoing conflict.

In a press release, UNRWA USA affirmed that it will continue its humanitarian efforts despite facing legal challenges aimed at undermining its work.

“Starvation does not pause for politics. Neither will we,” the statement read.

Last year, Israeli security documents revealed that of UNRWA’s 13,000 employees in Gaza, 440 were actively involved in Hamas’s military operations, with 2,000 registered as Hamas operatives.

According to these documents, at least nine UNRWA employees took part directly in the terror group’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel.

Israeli officials also uncovered a large Hamas data center beneath UNRWA headquarters, with cables running through the facility above, and found that Hamas also stored weapons in other UNRWA sites.

The UN agency has also aligned with Hamas in efforts against the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an Israeli and US-backed program that delivers aid directly to Palestinians, blocking Hamas from diverting supplies for terror activities and selling them at inflated prices.

These Israeli intelligence documents also revealed that a senior Hamas leader, killed in an Israeli strike in September 2024, had served as the head of the UNRWA teachers’ union in Lebanon, where Lebanon is based,

UNRWA’s education programs have been found by IMPACT-se, an international organization that monitors global education, to contribute to the radicalization of younger generations of Palestinians.

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