(MENAFN- Live Mint) "Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Islamic militants were responsible for the deadly attack at a concert outside of Moscow last week. However, he also hinted that Ukraine may have benefited from it and added that Kyiv may have played a role. In the deadliest attack inside Russia in two decades, four men burst into the Crocus City Hall on Friday night, spraying bullets during a concert by the Soviet-era rock group Picnic's remarks were delivered as France joined the US in saying intelligence indicated the Islamic State was responsible Read: Moscow attack: Russia questions US claim of ISIS-K hand as two suspects plead guiltyAlexander Bastrykin, head of Russia's Investigative Committee, told the Kremlin meeting that the death toll had risen to 139, with 182 people wounded this case, so far, four men of Tajik origin have been remanded to custody on terrorism charges at Moscow's Basmanny district court on suspicion of carrying out the attack. Three others, also of Tajik origin, were remanded in custody on suspicion of complicity Read: Moscow attack gunmen trained in Pakistan? Taliban flags 'ISIS recruitment hubs'Islamic State has said it was responsible for the attack and has released what it says is footage from the massacre benefits from this? Putin questions“We know that the crime was carried out by the hand of radical Islamists with an ideology that the Muslim world has fought for centuries,” Putin said in his remarks posted on the Telegram messaging app stated there were“many questions” to be investigated and reiterated his earlier claim that the attackers had been attempting to escape to Ukraine without specifically mentioning the Islamic State added,“The question that arises is who benefits from this?”He further added,“This atrocity may be just a link in a whole series of attempts by those who have been at war with our country since 2014 at the hands of the neo-Nazi Kyiv regime.”“We know by whose hand the crime against Russia and its people was committed. But what is of interest to us is who ordered it.”Putin said the purpose of the attack was to \"sow panic\". But as Russian forces were advancing through the Ukraine war theatre, he said, it could also be intended to \"show their own population that not all is lost for the Kyiv regime\".However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has denied Putin's comments in his nightly video address, saying that for the Kremlin leader, \"everyone is a terrorist, except himself, though he has been thriving on terror for two decades.\" That was a reference to allegations that Putin was behind several acts of violence in Russia since taking power in 2000. \"When he is gone, the need for terror and violence will disappear with him,\" Zelenskyy said ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 after eight years of conflict in eastern Ukraine between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian Ukrainians for VictimsHundreds of Russians have laid flowers outside the Crocus City Hall to remember the victims. Picnic, the band that had been due to perform on Friday, will stage a memorial concert in St Petersburg on Wednesday together with a symphony orchestra in aid of the victims, the city's Oktyabrskiy concert hall announced Read: Moscow attack survivor recounts horrific details: 'Pretended to be dead...'Number of people detained so farDuring his address, Putin said that 11 people were detained, including the four suspected gunmen, who he said had made their way to the Bryansk region, about 340 km (210 miles) southwest of Moscow, to try to slip into Ukraine. Unverified videos of interrogations on social media showed one having part of his ear cut off and stuffed into his mouth, Reuters has reported.
Also Read: Moscow concert attack: ISIS releases bodycam footage; netizens say 'extremely graphic'Citing Interfax news agency, Reuters added that the court remanded in custody two more Tajik natives - father and son Isroil and Aminchon Islomov - and another son, Dilovar, who has Russian citizenship. The Investigative Committee said it believed Aminchon and Dilovar had been recruited by Fariduni. Russian media reported that Dilovar had owned a car used by the attackers. Aminchon asserted his innocence, Interfax said.(With all inputs from Reuters)
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