2024 Moscow Center Hall ISIS Terrorist Attack

Overview

2024 Moscow Center Hall ISIS Terrorist Attack or ISKP Moscow Attack was a terrorist attack allegedly carried out by the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) a regional affiliate of the ISIS terrorist organization, in which at least 115 people were killed and more than 140 injured when gunmen attacked the Crocus City Hall on the outskirts of Moscow, Russia, on March 22nd, 2024. Graphic footage of the incident quickly spread online, showing the venue in Krasnogorsk in flames according to Russia’s emergency services.

Background

On March, 22nd, 2024, the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) a regional affiliate of the ISIS terrorist organization, claimed responsibility for the night attack on the Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk, Russia, which at least 115 people were killed by a group of gunmen and left about 140,000 square feet of the venue in flames according to Russia’s emergency services.^[1]

X^[2] page @nexta_tv posted one of the earliest footages about the incident, saying a shooting occurred in Moscow’s largest concert hall, in which gunshots can be heard while people are hidden (shown below). The post amassed over 253,000 views and 890 likes in a day.

Developments

Putin’s response

Shortly after the incident became a viral topic on social media, on March 23rd, 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin released a statement saying that the attackers behind the deadly assault were “travelling towards Ukraine”. The full video was posted by The Telegraph’s YouTube^[3] channel, amassing over 93,000 views and 4,300 likes in a few hours.

“All four perpetrators were found and detained. They tried to hide and moved towards Ukraine, where, previously, a window had been prepared for them to cross the border,” Putin said in his first public statement since Friday’s attack on the concert hall.

The Russian president also called the attack a “barbaric terrorist act” and announced a day of national mourning.

U.S. Embassy Security Alert Message

The U.S and other countries’ embassies in Moscow issued a Security Alert message two weeks prior to the Crocus City Hall attack, saying "extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow, to include concerts, and U.S. citizens should be advised to avoid large gatherings over the next 48 hours.” The message (shown below) was issued on March 8th, 2024, after Russia’s security service claimed to have foiled an Islamic State plot against a Moscow synagogue^[4].

The security alert message was massively shared after the concert hall terrorist attack, in which some users alleged the U.S. knew about the incident beforehand. For example, on March 22nd, 2024, X^[5] user @infrahaz shared the U.S. embassy’s message, claiming they knew about the attack, which was quickly replied by X’s notes users saying the message was not related to the events of Moscow’s concert hall attack. The post (shown below) amassed more than 16,000 likes and 4,300 retweets in a day.

Online Reactions

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Various Examples

Search Interest

External References