As Russia mourns concert hall attack, some still look for their family members

Family and friends of those still missing after an attack that killed over 130 people at a suburban Moscow concert hall waited for news of their loved ones as Russia observed a day of national mourning on SundayEvents at cultural institutions were cancelled flags were lowered and TV entertainment and ads were suspended according to state news agency RIA Novosti A steady stream of people brought flowers to a makeshift memorial near the burntout concert hallThe attack which has been claimed by an affiliate of the Islamic State is the deadliest on Russian soil in years As rescuers continue to search the damaged building some families still dont know if members who went to the event targeted by gunmen on Friday are aliveIgor Pogadaev was desperately seeking any details of his wifes whereabouts after she went to the concert and stopped responding to his messages He hasnt seen a message from Yana Pogadaeva since she sent her husband two photos from the Crocus City Hall music venueAfter Igor saw the reports of gunmen opening fire on concertgoers he rushed to the site but couldnt find her in the numerous ambulances or among the hundreds of people who had made their way out of the venue I went around searched I asked everyone I showed photographs No one saw anything no one could say anything Pogadaev told The Associated Press in a video messageHe watched flames bursting out of the building as he made frantic calls to a hotline for relatives of the victims but received no information As the death toll mounted on Saturday Igor scoured hospitals in Moscow and the Moscow region looking for information on newly admitted patientsBut his wife wasnt among the 154 reported injured nor on the list of 50 victims authorities have already identified he said Refusing to believe that his wife could be one of the 133 people who died in the attack Pogadaev still hasnt gone home I couldnt be alone anymore its very difficult so I drove to my friends he said Now at least Ill be with someoneThe Moscow Regions Emergency Situations Ministry posted a video Sunday showing equipment dismantling the damaged music venue to give rescuers access Meanwhile Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to be trying to tie Ukraine to the attack something its government firmly deniesRussian authorities arrested four suspected attackers on Saturday Putin said in an nighttime address to the nation among 11 people suspected of involvement in the attack He claimed they were captured while fleeing to UkraineThough no court hearing has been officially announced there was a heavy police presence around Moscows Basmanny District Court on Sunday Police tried to drive journalists away from the courtPutin called the attack a bloody barbaric terrorist act and said Russian authorities captured the four suspects as they were trying to escape to Ukraine through a window prepared for them on the Ukrainian side of the borderRussian media broadcast videos that apparently showed the detention and interrogation of the suspects including one who told the cameras he was approached by an unidentified assistant to an Islamic preacher via a messaging app and paid to take part in the raidKyiv strongly denied any involvement and the Islamic State groups Afghanistan affiliate claimed responsibility Putin did not mention IS in his speech to the nation and Kyiv accused him and other Russian politicians of falsely linking Ukraine to the assault to stoke fervour for Russias fight in Ukraine which recently entered its third yearUS intelligence officials said they had confirmed the IS affiliates claim ISIS bears sole responsibility for this attack There was no Ukrainian involvement whatsoever National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said in a statementThe US shared information with Russia in early March about a planned terrorist attack in Moscow and issued a public warning to Americans in Russia Watson said The raid was a major embarrassment for the Russian leader and happened just days after he cemented his grip on the country for another six years in a vote that followed the harshest crackdown on dissent since the Soviet timesSome commentators on Russian social media questioned how authorities who have relentlessly suppressed any opposition activities and muzzled independent media failed to prevent the attack despite the US warningsWhite House press secretary Karine JeanPierre said in a statement that the US condemned the attack and noted that the Islamic State group is a common terrorist enemy that must be defeated everywhereIS which fought against Russia during its intervention in the Syrian civil war has long targeted Russia In a statement posted by the groups Aamaq news agency ISs Afghanistan affiliate said it had attacked a large gathering of Christians in KrasnogorskThe group issued a new statement Saturday on Aamaq saying the attack was carried out by four men who used automatic rifles a pistol knives and firebombs It said the assailants fired at the crowd and used knives to kill some concertgoers casting the raid as part of ISs ongoing war with countries that it says are fighting against IslamIn October 2015 a bomb planted by IS downed a Russian passenger plane over Sinai killing all 224 people on board most of them Russian vacationgoers returning from Egypt The group which operates mainly in Syria and Iraq but also in Afghanistan and Africa also has claimed several attacks in Russias volatile Caucasus and other regions in the past years It recruited fighters from Russia and other parts of the former Soviet UnionThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever