Moscow terrorist attack: number of victims increases

KATERYNA TYSHCHENKO — Sunday, 24 March 2024, 16:21

Crocus City Hall after the attack. Photo: Russian Ministry of Emergencies

The death toll from the terrorist attack on Crocus City Hall near Moscow has risen to 137, including three children; 180 people were injured.

Source: Russian Investigative Committee on Telegram; Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti

Details: On Sunday 24 March, the Russian Investigative Committee reported that 137 bodies had been discovered at the scene, three of whom were children. 62 bodies were identified, and DNA tests were performed on the remaining victims to determine their identity.

Ekaterina Kushner, the Picnic band’s assistant director, was killed in the Crocus terrorist attack, according to the group's director.

Meanwhile, the Moscow Oblast branch of the Ministry of Health updated the list of the terrorist attack victims, which now includes 180 people: 142 were hospitalised, including 32 who have since been discharged, and 38 were treated on an outpatient basis.

Background:

A shooting incident occurred at a concert by the band Piknik at the Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk, Moscow Oblast, on the evening of 22 March. Early reports said at least 133 people had been killed and 140 injured.
Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) stated that the terrorist attack was a deliberate provocation by Putin’s regime that had been anticipated by the international community. Mykhailo Podoliak, adviser to the Head of the Ukrainian President’s Office, stated that Ukraine had nothing to do with the attack.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin claimed that a "back door" had been prepared for the suspects in the attack to cross the border with Ukraine. Ukraine's Defence Intelligence responded by saying that these claims are entirely devoid of truth.
The United States has no doubt that ISIS was involved in the terrorist attack on a concert in the suburbs of Moscow on the evening of 22 March and had warned Russia in advance of the threat of such a terrorist attack.
ISIS called the terrorist attack in the Crocus City Hall in Moscow Oblast their "most brutal attack in recent years" and posted photos of the terrorists. Their clothing matches that of the detainees whose photos were posted by the FSB.