Russian concert hall attack on childrens dance competition

[Anthea]

Terror attack in Moscow

In the aftermath of the terrorist attack that struck Moscow's Crocus City Hall concert venue and left dozens of civilians dead, several countries on Friday issued statements expressing strong condemnation of the heinous act

Among these countries include Iran, Egypt, Cuba, Italy, Belarus, Syria, Serbia and Pakistan, among many others.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani condemned the attack in Moscow and expressed condolences to the government and people of Russia.

ناصر کنعانی سخنگوی وزارت امور خارجه حمله تروریستی خونین و وحشیانه به یک مرکز تجاری در مسکو را که به کشته و مجروح شدن جمع زیادی از شهروندان #روسیه منجر شد، شدیداً محکوم کرد.
کنعانی ضمن ابراز تسلیت به دولت و ملت روسیه به ویژه خانواده‌های قربانيان گفت، جمهوری اسلامی ایران در این… pic.twitter.com/A8NUmXBrmr
— وزارت امور خارجه (@IRIMFA) March 22, 2024

Egypt's Foreign Ministry issued a statement condemning the attack:

"The Egyptian Foreign Ministry condemned the terrorist attack in Crocus City Hall and expressed condolences to the Russian government and Russians," a statement by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry read.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel posted on social media: "Cuba condemns the atrocious terrorist act that occurred in the Moscow region. Our sincere condolences to the government and people of the Federation of Russia for the loss of human life and the numerous injuries. Our condolences to the relatives and loved ones of the victims."

Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani wrote in a post on social media platform X: "I spoke to our Chargé d'Affaires in Russia for updates on what's happening at Moscow. We are following the situation with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Crisis Unit. I express condemnation of all forms of terrorism and solidarity with the families of the victims."

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry likewise condemned the attack, describing it as "horrendous", and expressed solidarity with the people of Russia.

Likewise on X, Belarus's Foreign Ministry described the attack as "heinous" and "unjustified".

We are following with deep pain what is happening in Moscow. @mfa_russia This heinous terrorist act can never be justified.

We stand together with the brotherly Russian people in these difficult moments. We express our sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of the… pic.twitter.com/FGemiM1kv3
— Belarus MFA (@BelarusMFA) March 22, 2024

The Syrian Foreign Ministry expressed condemnation of the attack.

"Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates: Syria condemns in the strongest terms the cowardly terrorist act that took place in the Crocus Mall near the Russian capital, Moscow, which comes after the major achievements made by the friendly Russian people, especially the special operation carried out by the Russian army in the Donbass region," a statement issued by the Ministry read.

Though Germany did not condemn the attack, it did express condolences to the families of the victims.

The images of the terrible attack on innocent people in Crocus City Hall near #Moscow are horrific. The background must be investigated quickly. Our deepest condolences with the families of the victims.
— GermanForeignOffice (@GermanyDiplo) March 22, 2024

Prior intel

On March 8, a report by The Telegraph revealed that both the UK and US embassies in Russia sent out a warning that a terrorist attack could happen in Moscow within the next 24 hours.

The warning initially issued by the US embassy was reiterated by the UK's embassy, advising American citizens to steer clear of large gatherings for the next 48 hours. It stressed that it is "monitoring reports that extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow, to include concerts".

The embassy further sent an advisory to its citizens to “monitor local media for updates” and “be aware of your surroundings”.

The news came a day after Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) reported that its agents had dodged a potential ISIS terrorist attack on a Moscow synagogue, with state-owned media claiming those plotting the attackers were killed. However, it remains unclear whether these incidents are related.

In reaction to the report, Serbian President Alexandre Vucic told the Prva broadcaster that calls by the US and British embassies to their nationals not to visit shopping malls in Moscow show that their intelligence services had certain information about possible terrorist attacks.

"On March 7, the US Embassy cautioned its citizens against visiting shopping centers. Then the British and some others did the same. This means that their intelligence services wiretapped certain conversations, got information and knew that something would happen," Vucic told the Prva.

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Putin vows severe punishment

Russian President Vladimir Putin pledges to punish the terrorists and any party involved in the Crocus City Hall massacre that killed nearly 150 people in the Russian capital

The Russian authorities have arrested 11 individuals in connection to the Crocus City Hall concert massacre that took place on Friday, including the four suspected gunmen allegedly responsible for the massacre.

Russian President Vladimir Putin made a televised address in which he assured the nation that those behind the attack would face justice.

The death toll from the massacre has officially been confirmed at 133 by Russia's state Investigative Committee, though earlier reports suggested a higher number.

Crocus City Hall in Moscow fell victim to a horrifying shooting and fire, resulting in numerous casualties and injuries, Russian authorities confirmed on Friday.

The incident has sparked global condemnation, with officials terming it a "bloody terrorist attack."

Gunshots were heard in the concert hall shortly before flames engulfed it. The Federal Security Service (FSB) reported fatalities and injuries in the wake of the assault. Preliminary figures reported by TASS estimated that 40 were killed and over 100 others were wounded as a result of the terrorist attack.

The gunmen, reportedly linked to the Islamic State (ISIS), were apprehended while attempting to flee towards the Ukraine border.
'International terrorists'

Putin revealed that preliminary investigations indicate a connection with contacts in Ukraine amid Western claims that the attack was committed by the terrorist organization.

In his address, Putin denounced the perpetrators as "international terrorists" and pledged to collaborate with any state willing to combat such threats. He vowed to identify and punish all involved in the planning and execution of the attack.

The FSB security service disclosed that the captured gunmen had ties in Ukraine and were intercepted near the border. They are currently being transported to Moscow for further interrogation.

While ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, suspicions linger regarding a potential Ukrainian involvement, despite denials from Ukrainian officials.

Andrei Kartapolov, a senior Russian lawmaker, asserted that if Ukraine's complicity is proven, Russia must respond decisively.

Meanwhile, the United States has confirmed intelligence supporting the terrorist organization's claim of responsibility. A US official, speaking anonymously, revealed that Washington had previously alerted Moscow about the possibility of an attack set to be carried out by ISIS.
FSB arrests perpetrators

Russia's FSB security service told President Vladimir Putin that 11 people had been detained following Friday's deadly attack near Moscow, including four people directly involved, Interfax cited the Kremlin as saying on Saturday.

It said FSB security service chief Alexander Bortnikov had reported to President Vladimir Putin that those detained included "four terrorists" and that the service was working to identify their accomplices.

Russian lawmaker Alexander Khinshtein said the attackers had fled in a Renault vehicle that was spotted by police in the Bryansk region, about 340 km (210 miles) southwest of Moscow on Friday night, and disobeyed instructions to stop.

While two were arrested after a car chase, two others fled into a forest, but they were later caught and arrested as confirmed by the Kremlin.
Russian people combat their losses by solidarity

According to data on victim hospitalizations released by Moscow Region’s Health Ministry today, at least three children have been killed in the terrorist attack in Crocus City Hall near Moscow.

The data revealed that there were three children and two men enlisted in the "biological death" section of the register.

Governor of the Moscow Region Andrey Vorobyov revealed on Telegram that the spill of structures perpetuates in the Crocus City Hal and individual fires are ongoing, however, the fire has been mostly extinguished.

“Currently, the spill of structures continues. There are still some pockets of fire, but the fire has been mostly extinguished,” he wrote.

Regardless of the pain and physical and mental impact of the terrorist attack, the Russian people continue to support each other. In one act of solidarity, a RIA Novosti video shows a line of people who went to donate blood in groups ever since this morning and less than 24 hours since the attack.

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[Anthea]

Although not yet mentioned on Social Media

The attack Crocus City Hall In Russia was not an attack on any form of political target

But the massacre that killed nearly 150 people, was an attack on a

CHILDREN'S DANCE COMPETITION

Guaranteeing the concert hall would be full of families

Children watching brothers and sisters taking part in the competition

This makes the attack far more hideous

It was a carefully planned attack

The people who planned the attack knew that the

CHILDREN'S DANCE COMPETITION

Was taking place in the concert hall

[Anthea]

Crocus Concert Hall Atrocity

The details of the arrested perpetrators of the Crocus Concert Hall massacre and their mode of operation does not comport with the notion of their being ideological supporters of ISIS

Why is it that the EU and the US are so adamant about who is behind the Crocus Concert Hall atrocity, that they will not wait out the investigation? Within 55 minutes of the attack, the US spokesperson said ‘Ukraine wasn’t involved’. Now the US is saying – definitively - that only ISIS was involved.

“No concrete advance warning - nothing was transferred to us”, Russia’s Washington Ambassador insists.

Why are Western states so certain? It is most unusual for Intelligence services to pronounce within the hour. Though the actual perpetrators are now known, the key question remains: Who stands behind the attack? Things are not always as they seem.

At the moment, there is insufficient evidence to say -- let alone with absolute certainty -- that the attack committed in Moscow was planned, prepared and executed to some Islamic State master-plan.

ISIS-K has been operating for some years, more as a ‘rat-run’ extending from Turkey to Syria; to Afghanistan and Iran. It is a franchise on behalf of which terrorist acts are committed, funds raised, and resources prepared.

ISIS-K, which originated amongst Tajik dissidents in northern Afghanistan, unites certain groups and conducts active operations largely against the Taliban movement. It provides an umbrella for terrorist actions too in northern Iran. It has had no particular interest in Russia.

Behind ISIS have stood certain Muslim States -- and their Western backers.

The details of the arrested perpetrators and their mode of operation however, does not comport with the notion of their being ideological supporters of ISIS. They may have ostensibly been broadly Islamist, but were in reality mercenaries motivated by the lure of money. ISIS recruits expect and get martyrdom. These men simply jumped in a car, wanting to escape. In an ISIS operation, they would have continued the massacre -- until shot dead.

There are many other inconsistencies to the ISIS claim. The assailants may have been pious Islamists, but likely not ISIS. Even their oath with the left hand raised was wrong. The Amaq statement too, is problematic in several respects. In the past Amaq has claimed attacks in Iran, with subsequent Amaq communiques having to be ‘corrected’. Livestream coverage of an attack is unheard of.

The Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov insists that though Russia knows who carried out the attack, it is too early to speculate on ‘who gave the ultimate order’ (President Putin’s, as yet, unanswered question).

All of which returns to the question, why has the West been hyper-adamant about the ISIS sole attribution? Why does it wish to pre-empt the Russian investigation?

Beijing’s Global Times says that it is unlikely for the IS to have masterminded the attack because the situation in Syria has already stabilized. But it goes to the heart when it warns that support for Kiev would dwindle, were Ukraine’s involvement in the terror attack to be established.

The EU élites’ commitment to Ukraine represents the unspoken disaster that is quashing any lingering aspirations for Europe achieving its genuine strategic autonomy; it is vassalizing Europe to the United States, and leaving the Continent at its weakest since the end of World War II. Europe has lost badly.

Macron’s fear of a Russian victory in Ukraine obliterating Europe’s ‘credibility’ only makes sense when the Ruling Strata’s imperial project of a top-down, centralised Geo-political EU is precisely leveraged on Ukrainian plight.

Yet, against the reality of last summer’s failed Ukrainian military offensive, the fervour for ‘Project Ukraine’ persists -- and trumps all other considerations.

Why?

Because the EU’s panglossian ‘hunt’ after strategic autonomy (encapsulated in its mantra of building a geo-political EU) is tied to Ukraine.

“Recognizing the emotive power of Ukraine’s struggle against Russian dominance”, Arta Moeini writes, “European élites have appropriated this struggle to preach the ideological precepts of “European-ness” and, indeed, of civilization itself”;

“Seemingly overnight, Ukraine came to stand for enlightened “European values”—freedom, democracy, tolerance, good governance, and so on — with Russia transformed into ‘civilized Europe’s opposite, the barbarian horde at the gate”.

“As Nietzsche was the first to grasp, modernity is an epoch in which the world is experienced primarily through the lens of oppression with identities formed out of the “ethic of ressentiment”: The downtrodden are deemed inherently righteous and accorded the ultimate moral value. Under this dispensation, the defense of “the oppressed” - becomes the … vehicle for the ruling class to gain and consolidate power - sanctifying their supremacy and planting the seed for their future power as the great liberators”.

Ultimately, the EU’s ruling élites seek to ‘trans-nationalise’ power upwards from member states to Brussels.

Here lies the seeds of the present putative panic: When it became evident that Ukraine’s conventional military efforts were a flop, a number of hawks in the US and Europe quickly swung to singing the praises of asymmetric warfare -- on Russia and its civilian population, itself.

This asymmetry began slowly: a few random drone attacks that did little damage. This then accelerated to missiles fired into the centres of Belgorod killing civilians; then it became an attack on a Russian transport Ilyushin plane transporting prisoners; and then moved to drone attacks on Russian refineries and naval drone war on Crimea.

The process accelerated. And on the eve of last week’s Russian elections, there was the attempt by purported dissidents to disrupt the elections by invading Russia in order to seize small towns and Russian civilians to hold as hostages. (It failed; Russia had prior knowledge of the plan).

The question the Euro-élites must be asking themselves now is: Has this Ukrainian asymmetric warfare effort spun out of Washington’s and European control? Who is in charge, if anyone? It is unproven yet, but the fear haunting the West must be that either directly, or even very indirectly, it will emerge that they may find themselves complicit in mass terrorism -- sheltering under an ISIS-K franchise?

The implications: Huge.

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[Anthea]

Did CIA and MI6 Create ISIS

Contrary to their mainstream portrayal, as inspired purely by religious fundamentalism, Daesh are primarily guns for hire

Within just 24 hours of the horrific mass shooting in Moscow’s Crocus City Hall on March 22nd, which left at least 137 innocent people dead and 60 more critically wounded, US officials blamed the slaughter on ISIS-K, Daesh’s South-Central Asian branch. For many, the attribution’s celerity raised suspicions Washington was seeking to decisively shift Western public and Russian government focus away from the actual culprits - be that Ukraine, and/or Britain, Kiev’s foremost proxy sponsor.

Full details of how the four shooters were recruited, directed, armed, and financed, and who by, are yet to emerge. The savage interrogation methods to which they have been, and no doubt continue to be subjected are concerned with prising this and other vital information from them. The killers may end up making false confessions as a result. In any event, they themselves likely have no clue who or what truly sponsored their monstrous actions.

Contrary to their mainstream portrayal, as inspired purely by religious fundamentalism, Daesh are primarily guns for hire. At any given time, they act at the behest of an array of international donors, bound by common interests. Funding, weapons, and orders reach its fighters circuitously, and opaquely. There is almost invariably layer upon layer of cutouts between the perpetrators of an attack claimed by the group, and its ultimate orchestrators and financiers.

Given ISIS-K is currently arrayed against China, Iran, and Russia - in other words, the US Empire’s primary adversaries - it is incumbent to revisit Daesh’s origins. Emerging seemingly out of nowhere just over a decade ago, before dominating mainstream media headlines and Western public consciousness for several years before vanishing, at one stage the group occupied vast swaths of Iraqi and Syrian territory, declaring an “Islamic State”, which issued its own currency, passports, and vehicle registration plates.

Devastating military interventions independently launched by the US and Russia wiped out that demonic construct in 2017. The CIA and MI6 were no doubt immensely relieved. After all, extremely awkward questions about how Daesh were comprehensively extinguished. As we shall see, the terror group and its caliphate did not emerge in the manner of lightning on a dark night, but due to dedicated, determined policy hatched in London and Washington, implemented by their spying agencies.

‘Continuingly Hostile’

RAND is a highly influential, Washington DC-headquartered “think tank”. Bankrolled to the tune of almost $100 million annually by the Pentagon and other US government entities, it regularly disseminates recommendations on national security, foreign affairs, military strategy, and covert and overt actions overseas. These pronouncements are more often than not subsequently adopted as policy.

For example, a July 2016 RAND paper on the prospect of “war with China” forecast a need to fill Eastern Europe with US soldiers in advance of a “hot” conflict with Beijing, as Russia would undoubtedly side with its neighbour and ally in such a dispute. It was therefore necessary to tie down Moscow’s forces at its borders. Six months later, scores of NATO troops duly arrived in the region, ostensibly to counter “Russian aggression”.

Similarly, in April 2019 RAND published Extending Russia. It set out “a range of possible means” to “bait Russia into overextending itself,” so as to “undermine the regime’s stability.” These methods included; providing lethal aid to Ukraine; increasing US support for the Syrian rebels; promoting “regime change in Belarus”; exploiting “tensions” in the Caucasus; neutralising “Russian influence in Central Asia” and Moldova. Most of that came to pass thereafter.

In this context, RAND’s November 2008 Unfolding The Long War makes for disquieting reading. It explored ways the US Global War on Terror could be prosecuted once coalition forces formally left Iraq, under the terms of a withdrawal agreement inked by Baghdad and Washington that same month. This development by definition threatened Anglo dominion over Persian Gulf oil and gas resources, which would remain “a strategic priority” when the occupation was officially over.

“This priority will interact strongly with that of prosecuting the long war,” RAND declared. The think tank went on to propose a “divide and rule” strategy to maintain US hegemony in Iraq, despite the power vacuum created by withdrawal. Under its auspices, Washington would exploit “fault lines between [Iraq’s] various Salafi-jihadist groups to turn them against each other and dissipate their energy on internal conflicts”, while “supporting authoritative Sunni governments against a continuingly hostile Iran”:

“This strategy relies heavily on covert action, information operations, unconventional warfare, and support to indigenous security forces…The US and its local allies could use nationalist jihadists to launch proxy campaigns to discredit transnational jihadists in the eyes of the local populace…This would be an inexpensive way of buying time…until the US can return its full attention to the [region]. US leaders could also choose to capitalize on the sustained Shia-Sunni Conflict…by taking the side of conservative Sunni regimes against Shiite empowerment movements in the Muslim world.”

‘Great Danger’

So it was that the CIA and MI6 began supporting “nationalist jihadists” throughout West Asia. The next year, Bashar Assad rejected a Qatari proposal to route Doha’s vast gas reserves directly to Europe, via a $10 billion, 1,500 kilometre-long pipeline spanning Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria and Turkey. As extensively documented by WikiLeaks-released diplomatic cables, US, Israeli and Saudi intelligence immediately decided to overthrow Assad by fomenting a local rebellion, and started financing opposition groups for the purpose.

This effort became turbocharged in October 2011, with MI6 redirecting weapons and extremist fighters from Libya to Syria, in the wake of Muammar Gaddafi’s televised murder. The CIA oversaw that operation, using the British as an arm’s length cutout to avoid notifying Congress of its machinations. Only in June 2013, with then-President Barack Obama’s official authorisation, did the Agency’s cloak-and-dagger connivances in Damascus become formalised - and later admitted - under the title “Timber Sycamore”.

At this time, Western officials universally referred to their Syrian proxies as “moderate rebels”. Yet, Washington was well-aware its surrogates were dangerous extremists, seeking to carve a fundamentalist caliphate out of the territory they occupied. An August 2012 US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) report released under Freedom of Information laws observes that events in Baghdad were “taking a clear sectarian direction,” with radical Salafist groups “the major forces driving the insurgency in Syria.”

These factions included Al Qaeda’s Iraqi wing (AQI), and its umbrella offshoot, Islamic State of Iraq (ISI). The pair went on to form Daesh, a prospect the DIA report not only predicted, but seemingly endorsed:

“If the situation unravels, there is the possibility of establishing a declared or undeclared Salafist principality in eastern Syria…This is exactly what the supporting powers to the opposition want in order to isolate the Syrian regime…ISI could also declare an Islamic state through its union with other terrorist organizations in Iraq and Syria, which will create great danger.”

Despite such grave concerns, the CIA inexorably dispatched unaccountably vast shipments of weapons and money to Syria’s “moderate rebels”, well-knowing this “aid” would almost inevitably end up in Daesh’s hands. Moreover, Britain concurrently ran secret programs costing millions to train opposition paramilitaries in the art of killing, while providing medical assistance to wounded jihadists. London also donated multiple ambulances, purchased from Qatar, to armed groups in the country.

Leaked documents indicate the risk of equipment and trained personnel from these efforts being lost to Al-Nusra, Daesh, and other extremist groups in West Asia was judged unavoidably “high” by British intelligence. Yet, there was no concomitant strategy for countering this hazard at all, and the illicit programs continued apace. Almost as if training and arming Daesh was precisely the desired outcome.

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