ANALYSIS – But where's the proof? Several gunmen in combat fatigues entered the Crocus City Hall concert hall on the outskirts of Moscow on Friday night and, in a brazen attack, opened fire in the popular music venue, murdering at least 143 people and wounding scores more.
The assailants threw explosives, triggering a massive blaze at the hall, which can accommodate 6,200, according to Russian news outlets. (RELATED: Illegal Border Crosser On Terror Watchlist Released By Border Patrol, Apprehended Later – What Do We Know?)
Three days earlier, Vladimir Putin dismissed U.S. warnings of an impending attack.
The U.S. Embassy in Moscow issued a public security alert on March 7 that “extremists” are planning an attack in Moscow and advised U.S. citizens to avoid large gatherings over the next two days. (RELATED: St. Petersburg Mall Evacuated Due To Terror Threat)
Putin called the embassy's alerts “provocative” and “outright blackmail.”
Soon after, the Islamist terror group Islamic State (ISIS) officially claimed responsibility for the attack, the deadliest in Russia for 20 years. But Moscow initially blamed Ukraine for really being behind the attack, despite providing no real evidence.
On Monday, Putin conceded that “radical Islamists” had carried out the deadly terror attack but insisted that Ukraine and its Western backers were somehow linked to it.
The next day, Tuesday, the head of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) claimed that the U.S., U.K. and Ukraine were behind the attack, saying it was beneficial to Western intelligence services and Kyiv as it sowed panic in Russian society. He also did not present evidence to back his outlandish claim.
Still, the Kremlin is now doubling down on its version of events.
AS CNBC reported: “Russia has been firming up its narrative that Ukraine was behind a deadly terrorist attack in Moscow last week, a move that was widely expected by political experts who said Russia would likely use the tragedy to further domestic support for the war against Ukraine.”
Russia has since gone a step further, however, accusing the West (U.S. and U.K.) of conspiring with Ukraine to carry out the attack. But where is the proof? (RELATED: Russia Targets French Troops Ahead Of Purported Deployment, France Denies Claims)
The outlet continued:
An investigation into the attack is ongoing, but the latest, outlandish accusations give Moscow a problem: it now has to find the evidence to back up its unsubstantiated claims.
What's particularly awkward for the Kremlin is that the Islamic State militant group has already claimed responsibility for the attack. Eight suspects, mostly nationals of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, have been charged with terrorism offences and remanded in custody ahead of trial.
Ukraine has denied that Kyiv had anything to do with it. And so has the U.S. and the U.K.
CNBC added:
Ukraine denies any involvement in the attack, saying it was “absolutely predictable” that Moscow would look to blame it. The White House said that Ukraine had “no involvement whatsoever” in the attack and that any claim to the contrary was “Kremlin propaganda.” The U.K.'s foreign secretary, David Cameron, said on social media platform X “Russia's claims about the West and Ukraine on the Crocus City Hall attack are utter nonsense.”
The Central Asian Islamic State-Khorasan (ISIS-K) has emerged as the most dangerous offshoot of the Islamic State group, with a reputation for extreme brutality. ISIS-K grievances against Moscow include the brutal wars in Chechnya, the intervention in Syria against ISIS and Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s.
Islamic State-Khorasan (ISIS-K) has given itself the name Khorasan as that was part of a historical area spanning parts of Iran, Afghanistan and other Central Asian countries.
The group, which was established in 2014 by disaffected members of Pakistani Taliban, is waging an insurgency against the ruling Taliban in Afghanistan, who it opposes on ideological grounds. (RELATED: Pentagon Leaders Obsessed With Climate Change Plan As Afghanistan Collapsed)
Under the leadership of Sanaullah Ghafari, the group has transformed itself into one of the most fearsome branches of the global Islamist network, capable of operations far from its bases in the borderlands of Afghanistan.
As predicted at the time of Joe Biden's disastrous retreat from Kabul in August 2021, the U.S. has said its ability to develop intelligence against terrorist groups in Afghanistan such as ISIS-K has been greatly reduced.
Rest assured, however, that whoever is to blame, Putin is expected to use the deadly Moscow terror attack to Russia's advantage.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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