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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 News – Moscow 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
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Israel Says Missile Launched by Yemen’s Houthis ‘Most Likely’ Intercepted
Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi addresses followers via a video link at the al-Shaab Mosque, formerly al-Saleh Mosque, in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb. 6, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
The Israeli army said on Saturday that a missile fired from Yemen towards Israeli territory had been “most likely successfully intercepted,” while Yemen’s Houthi forces claimed responsibility for the launch.
Israel has threatened Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement – which has been attacking Israel in what it says is solidarity with Gaza – with a naval and air blockade if its attacks on Israel persist.
The Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group was responsible for Saturday’s attack, adding that it fired a missile towards the southern Israeli city of Beersheba.
Since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza in October 2023, the Houthis, who control most of Yemen, have been firing at Israel and at shipping in the Red Sea, disrupting global trade.
Most of the dozens of missiles and drones they have launched have been intercepted or fallen short. Israel has carried out a series of retaliatory strikes.
The post Israel Says Missile Launched by Yemen’s Houthis ‘Most Likely’ Intercepted first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran Holds Funeral for Commanders and Scientists Killed in War with Israel
People attend the funeral procession of Iranian military commanders, nuclear scientists and others killed in Israeli strikes, in Tehran, Iran, June 28, 2025. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Large crowds of mourners dressed in black lined streets in Iran’s capital Tehran as the country held a funeral on Saturday for top military commanders, nuclear scientists and some of the civilians killed during this month’s aerial war with Israel.
At least 16 scientists and 10 senior commanders were among those mourned at the funeral, according to state media, including armed forces chief Major General Mohammad Bagheri, Revolutionary Guards commander General Hossein Salami, and Guards Aerospace Force chief General Amir Ali Hajizadeh.
Their coffins were driven into Tehran’s Azadi Square adorned with their photos and national flags, as crowds waved flags and some reached out to touch the caskets and throw rose petals onto them. State-run Press TV showed an image of ballistic missiles on display.
Mass prayers were later held in the square.
State TV said the funeral, dubbed the “procession of the Martyrs of Power,” was held for a total of 60 people killed in the war, including four women and four children.
In attendance were President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior figures including Ali Shamkhani, who was seriously wounded during the conflict and is an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as Khamenei’s son Mojtaba.
“Today, Iranians, through heroic resistance against two regimes armed with nuclear weapons, protected their honor and dignity, and look to the future prouder, more dignified, and more resolute than ever,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, who also attended the funeral, said in a Telegram post.
There was no immediate statement from Khamenei, who has not appeared publicly since the conflict began. In past funerals, he led prayers over the coffins of senior commanders ahead of public ceremonies broadcast on state television.
Israel launched the air war on June 13, attacking Iranian nuclear facilities and killing top military commanders as well as civilians in the worst blow to the Islamic Republic since the 1980s war with Iraq.
Iran retaliated with barrages of missiles on Israeli military sites, infrastructure and cities. The United States entered the war on June 22 with strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
TRUMP THREAT
Israel, the only Middle Eastern country widely believed to have nuclear weapons, said it aimed to prevent Tehran from developing its own nuclear weapons.
Iran denies having a nuclear weapons program. The U.N. nuclear watchdog has said it has “no credible indication” of an active, coordinated weapons program in Iran.
Bagheri, Salami and Hajizadeh were killed on June 13, the first day of the war. Bagheri was being buried at the Behesht Zahra cemetery outside Tehran mid-afternoon on Saturday. Salami and Hajizadeh were due to be buried on Sunday.
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he would consider bombing Iran again, while Khamenei, who has appeared in two pre-recorded video messages since the start of the war, has said Iran would respond to any future US attack by striking US military bases in the Middle East.
A senior Israeli military official said on Friday that Israel had delivered a “major blow” to Iran’s nuclear project. On Saturday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said in a statement that Israel and the US “failed to achieve their stated objectives” in the war.
According to Iranian health ministry figures, 610 people were killed on the Iranian side in the war before a ceasefire went into effect on Tuesday. More than 4,700 were injured.
Activist news agency HRANA put the number of killed at 974, including 387 civilians.
Israel’s health ministry said 28 were killed in Israel and 3,238 injured.
The post Iran Holds Funeral for Commanders and Scientists Killed in War with Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Pro-Palestinian Rapper Leads ‘Death to the IDF’ Chant at English Music festival
Revellers dance as Avril Lavigne performs on the Other Stage during the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 30, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Dylan Martinez
i24 News – Chants of “death to the IDF” were heard during the English Glastonbury music festival on Saturday ahead of the appearance of the pro-Palestinian Irish rappers Kneecap.
One half of punk duo based Bob Vylan (who both use aliases to protect their privacy) shouted out during a section of their show “Death to the IDF” – the Israeli military. Videos posted on X (formerly Twitter) show the crowd responding to and repeating the cheer.
This comes after officials had petitioned the music festival to drop the band. The rap duo also expressed support for the following act, Kneecap, who the BCC refused to show live after one of its members, Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh – better known by stage name Mo Chara – was charged with a terror offense.
The post Pro-Palestinian Rapper Leads ‘Death to the IDF’ Chant at English Music festival first appeared on Algemeiner.com.