Do we know who the Moscow shooters are?

On Friday, March 22, a group of individuals in camouflage opened fire on the crowd of a concert near Moscow. Carrying automatic weapons, the group killed at least 93 people and injured more than 145, according to Russian authorities.

As soon as news of the attack began to circle on the web, people wondered what could be the reason behind the attacks and who are the authors of this barbaric crime. Currently, Russia is entangled in a war against Ukraine after invading the European country. Furthermore, President Vladimir Putin was re-elected for his sixth mandate last Sunday, March 17, amidst concerns of the international community about the transparency and validity of Russia’s electoral process. However, neither the war nor the current political climate in Russia seems to have motivated the attack.

The shooting took place at the Crocus City Hall, a venue for concerts and live presentations. That means the attackers intended to cause mass panic, as the target was not political or military. Unsurprisingly, the Moscow shooting has been connected to an act of terrorism. While the identity of individual killers remains unknown, an infamous terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack.

Who was behind the Moscow shooting?

After news of the Moscow shooting spread worldwide, the Islamic State claimed to be behind the attack. If the name rings a bell, that’s because ISIS is one of the largest terrorist networks in the world, having been involved in violent conflicts for the instauration of a caliphate in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Iran.

The Islamic State didn’t offer any proof to support their claim, but the U.S. intelligence service has confirmed the terrorist group was behind the attack, according to Reuters. In addition, a U.S. official declared that Russian authorities were warned about the possibility of an attack in Moscow one week before the shootings.

The Islamic State used its official Telegram group to say that the cowards involved in the massacre had safely escaped through the woods. We should take any information coming directly from the Islamic State with a grain of salt, as the Kremlin already reported the apprehension of 11 people suspected to be involved in the Moscow shooting.

Following the heinous shooting at the Crocus City Hall, the building was engulfed in flames, further increasing the number of victims of the terrorist attack. Of the 145 people wounded in the Moscow shooting, 60 are in critical condition. The reigning hope is that they will make a full recovery.

In a televised address, Putin attempted to blame Ukraine for the attack but failed to provide any evidence. But he cast the attack as an act of “international terrorism” and vowed that the ones behind it will be “justly and inevitably punished,” no matter “whoever they are, whoever is guiding them” (via Reuters).