Russian investigators said on Friday that one of the attackers involved in last month’s tragic massacre at Moscow’s Crocus City Hall concert hall, for which Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility, had pro-Ukrainian materials on his phone, Russian media reported.
Militants dressed in camouflage stormed the Crocus City Hall on the outskirts of Moscow before setting fire to the building. More than a dozen suspects have been detained, including four of the attackers, natives of the Central Asian state of Tajikistan.
According to Russian investigators, data obtained from the phone of one of the suspects showed that on the morning of 24 February, he searched for photos of the Crocus City Hall and shared them with others. The suspect confirmed this data in his testimony. Also found on the suspect’s phone were photos of people in camouflage waving a Ukrainian flag against a backdrop of destroyed buildings, suggesting a potential link between the attack and the war in Ukraine.
The US said it had sent Russia both public and private warnings in early March about extremist plans to attack a concert hall in Moscow. Later, unnamed US intelligence officials told US media that they had specifically warned Moscow that Crocus City Hall could be the target of an IS attack.
Alexander Bortnikov, director of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), said the information provided by the US agencies was only “general in nature”. On 2 April, the head of Moscow’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) said the warnings were “not specific.”
The terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall on 22 March killed 145 people and injured 551 others.
