The Islamic State on Saturday released a picture via its Amaq news agency on Telegram, claiming it showed the four attackers responsible for a shooting spree which killed at least 143 people in a concert hall near Moscow on Friday.
Amaq said that the attack came “within the context of a raging war between the Islamic State and countries fighting Islam”. Although Islamic State claimed accountability for the attack, there were suggestions that Russia was investigating a potential Ukrainian connection, despite vehement denials from Ukrainian authorities in Kyiv asserting no involvement.
After the attack on Friday, authorities in Russia arrested 11 people, including four suspected gunmen in connection with the attack.
Putin vows to punish perpetrators
Russia has arrested all the four gunmen who are the suspects behind the massacre and President Vladimir Putin has vowed to track down and punish all the people behind the attack.
Andrei Vorobyov, the Governor of Moscow region, reported that 133 bodies had been recovered from the debris within a 24-hour period, with medical professionals currently battling to save the lives of 107 individuals. Earlier, Margarita Simonyan, an editor at state TV, had mentioned a toll of 143 without providing a source.
During a televised address, Putin stated that 11 individuals had been apprehended, including the four gunmen. He remarked, “They tried to hide and moved towards Ukraine, where, according to preliminary data, a window was prepared for them on the Ukrainian side to cross the state border.”
As per the FSB security service of Russia, the shooters had connections in Ukraine and were apprehended close to the border.
(With Reuters inputs)