(MENAFN- AsiaNet News) Russia on Friday announced for the first time that the Islamic State coordinated the March concert hall attack in Moscow, marking the country's deadliest terror attack in two decades. However, it further stated that
Ukrainian military intelligence was directly involved in the deadly attack.
"In the course of the investigation... it has been established that the preparations, the financing, the attack and the retreat of the terrorists were coordinated via the internet by members of Khorasan Province (IS-K)," an IS branch active in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Alexander Bortnikov, the head of FSB, was quoted as saying by the RIA Novosti news agency.
IS has claimed responsibility multiple times for the March 22 attack that killed over 140 people, but Moscow has consistently tried to link Ukraine and the West to the incident.
On Friday, Bortnikov did not dismiss the Ukrainian connection, stating, "Upon completing the attack, the terrorists received clear instructions to move toward the Ukrainian border, where from the other side a 'window' had been prepared for them."
"The investigation is ongoing, but it is already safe to say that Ukrainian military intelligence is directly involved in this attack," the state news agency TASS quoted Bortnikov as saying.
Ukraine has repeatedly denied any involvement.
Gunmen in camouflage attire raided the Crocus City Hall venue on the outskirts of Moscow before setting the building ablaze.
Over a dozen suspects, including the four assailants, all hailing from the Central Asian nation of Tajikistan, an impoverished former Soviet republic bordering Afghanistan, have been apprehended.
The United States has revealed that it had both publicly and privately alerted Russia in early March regarding extremists' intentions to target a concert hall in Moscow.
Unnamed US intelligence officials disclosed to American media outlets post the tragedy that they had specifically informed Moscow about the Crocus City Hall being the intended target of the Islamic State.
However, Russia dismissed these warnings. Just three days prior to the attack, President Vladimir Putin accused Washington of "blackmail" and attempting to "intimidate" Russians.
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