Islamic State group claims responsibility for attack that killed 60

Assailants burst into a large concert hall in Moscow on Friday and sprayed the crowd with gunfire killing over 60 people injuring more than 100 and setting fire to the venue in a brazen attack just days after President Vladimir Putin cemented his grip on power in a highly orchestrated electoral landslide The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on affiliated channels on social mediaA US intelligence official told The Associated Press that US intelligence agencies had learned the groups branch in Afghanistan was planning an attack in Moscow and shared the information with Russian officials It wasnt immediately clear what happened to the attackers after the raid which state investigators were investigating as terrorismThe attack which left the concert hall in flames with a collapsing roof was the deadliest in Russia in years and came as the countrys war in Ukraine dragged into a third year Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin called the raid a huge tragedyThe Kremlin said Putin was informed minutes after the assailants burst into Crocus City Hall a large music venue on Moscows western edge that can accommodate 6200 people The attack took place as crowds gathered for a performance by the Russian rock band PicnicThe Investigative Committee the top state criminal investigation agency reported early Saturday that more than 60 people were killed Health authorities released a list of 145 injured 115 of them hospitalized including five children Some Russian news reports suggested more victims could have been trapped by the blaze that erupted after the assailants threw explosives Video showed the building on fire with a huge cloud of smoke rising through the night skyThe street was lit up by the blinking blue lights of dozens of firetrucks ambulances and other emergency vehicles as fire helicopters buzzed overhead to dump water on the blaze that took hours to contain The prosecutors office said several men in combat fatigues entered the concert hall and fired on concertgoers Dave Primov who was in the hall during the attack described panic and chaos when the attack beganThere were volleys of gunfire Primov told the AP We all got up and tried to move toward the aisles People began to panic started to run and collided with each other Some fell down and others trampled on them Videos posted by Russian media and on messaging app channels showed men toting assault rifles shooting screaming people at pointblank range One video showed a man in the auditorium saying the assailants had set it on fire as gunshots rang out incessantlyGuards at the concert hall didnt have guns and some could have been killed at the start of the attack Russian media reported Some Russian news outlets suggested the assailants fled before special forces and riot police arrived Reports said police patrols were looking for several vehicles the attackers could have used to escapeIn a statement posted by its Aamaq news agency the Islamic State group said it attacked a large gathering of Christians in Krasnogorsk on Moscows outskirts killing and wounding hundreds It was not immediately possible to verify the authenticity of the claim However US intelligence officials confirmed the claim by the Islamic State groups branch based in Afghanistan that it was responsible for the Moscow attack a US official told the APThe official said US intelligence agencies had gathered information in recent weeks that the IS branch was planning an attack in Moscow He said US officials privately shared the intelligence earlier this month with Russian officials The official was briefed on the matter but was not authorized to publicly discuss the intelligence information and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Noting that the IS statement cast its claim as an attack targeting Christians Aymenn Jawad alTamimi an expert on the terrorist group said it appeared to reflect the groups strategy of striking wherever they can as part of a global fight the infidels and apostates everywhereIn 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 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 UnionOn March 7 Russias top security agency said it thwarted an attack on a synagogue in Moscow by an Islamic State cell killing several of its members in the Kaluga region near the Russian capital A few days earlier Russian authorities said six alleged IS members were killed in a shootout in Ingushetia in Russias Caucasus region On Friday statements of outrage shock and support for those affected by the concert call attack streamed in from around the world Some commentators on Russian social media questioned how authorities who relentlessly surveil and pressure Kremlin critics failed to identify the threat and prevent the attackThis 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