Warnings Ignored: Moscow Attack Death Toll Rises to at Least 143

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Russian President Vladimir Putin was warned of a terrorist attack in the days before the ISIS K terrorists massacred at the Moscow theater.

On March 8, the U.S. Embassy warned Americans to avoid large gatherings such as concert halls.

ISIS K, an Afghan terrorist offshoot of the Islamic State group. The Russian Security Service says that it foiled a plan by ISIS K to attack a Moscow Synagogue. The New York Times quotes a source who believes that the attack at a theater was linked with the warnings about an “imminent attack”.

Putin dismissed the warnings of an attack from the U.S., as an attempt “to intimidate and destabilize” society.

In a release, NSC spokesperson Adrienne Watson stated that the US Government “had information regarding a terrorist act planned in Moscow.”

She said, “The US Government shared this information with Russian Officials by its long-standing policy of ‘duty to warn.”

At least 11 suspects detained by the FSB could have links to ISIS-K. Four suspects are from Tajikistan, a former Soviet country bordering Afghanistan.

The attack has resulted in at least 143 deaths and 150 injuries.

Putin already attempted to blame Ukraine. In a recent statement, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry denied any involvement.

The ministry said that it “categorically rejects accusations of Ukraine’s participation in the shootings in the Crocus concert hall in Krasnogorsk near Moscow.”

Thad Troy, a former Central Intelligence Agency Russia specialist, is among those who deny that Putin carried out a “false flag” operation. He said the US Embassy warning in early March indicated we had intelligence on some sort of plan.

According to analysts, Putin is likely to blame Ukraine for the full conscription of Russian soldiers, which would put Russia on a war footing. However, this could lead to dissent and Putin doesn’t want a divided Russia.

Putin could still use the attack to his political advantage.

Charles Lichfield, deputy director of the Atlantic Council GeoEconomics Center in Washington. He said: “It is obvious that the Kremlin would spin this to claim it has to do with the war in Ukraine.” “The immediate response could be increased ballistic and drone strikes. They already increased before the terrorist attacks. ”

Putin doesn’t need an explanation for his recent attacks against Ukraine. These included the Dnieper Dam, a vital hydroelectric facility.

Bloomberg:

Friday’s bloody attack was reminiscent of an earlier period of Putin’s 25 years of rule, when suicide bombings claimed scores of lives, mostly in Russia and its neighboring countries. This attack has shattered Putin’s illusion of security in Moscow which he had been trying for over two years since his invasion of Ukraine.

Islamists have targeted Russia in the past, citing what they believe to be anti-Muslim policies by the Kremlin. In 2004, more than 330 children were killed in a Beslan School in southern Russia. Two suicide attacks in Moscow subway stations in 2010 resulted in at least 40 fatalities. A 2017 suicide bombing on the subway in St. Petersburg killed 16 people including the attacker.

Why Russia The ISIS-K considers Putin to be the greatest enemy of Islam, and that this move outside Afghanistan does not benefit Russians

Colin Clarke, of the Soufan Center (an independent research center on foreign policy), said that ISIS K was obsessed with Russia in the past two years. Its propaganda has frequently criticized Putin. ” ISIS K joined with other Central Asian Islamist groups to provide terrorists in Russia with a base for further attacks.

This is just the beginning.

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