The Crocus Terror Attack

ISIS-K terrorists attacked a rock concert and a ballroom dancing competition at the Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk, Moscow Oblast.

Crocus City Hall - photo credit to Vladimir Gerdo (TASS)

Most of the Friday night crowd were at Krasnogorsk’s Crocus City Hall to enjoy the rock band Picnic. In another room, children and their parents were attending a ballroom dancing competition.

Joining them, at 8pm, were 5 ISIS-K terrorists with assault rifles and explosive devices.

The result is 133 Russian music lovers dead, and 107 still hospitalised (these figures will be adjusted as the death toll rises). Some were trampled in the chaos.

WHAT HAPPENED

March 22, 2024.

The 5 attackers were reported to be bearded males wearing combat clothing. They randomly shot into the crowd. They threw petrol bombs. There was also a loud explosion, possibly a different type of bomb, or gas exploding. Fire gnawed a third of the building and swallowed the roof, an area approximately 12,900 square meters.

Videos show the crowd slowly becoming aware of shooting, and then the building afire. A survivor relates how a security guard let approximately 50 of them into the safety of a boiler room with water tanks.

The injured and lucky were evacuated by the police, National Guard and 50 ambulances (with some coming from Moscow Centre, 20km away). Beautifully, the Buyanov hospital had to turn away citizens who turned up to donate blood because there were so many of them.

320 personnel fought the blaze, assisted by helicopters scooping water from the nearby Moskva River.

According to the FSB, 11 of the killers and their network have been captured:

“As a result of the actions of the special services and law enforcement agencies, 11 people were detained, including 4 terrorists who were directly involved in the terrorist attack in Crocus City Hall. After committing the terrorist attack, the criminals intended to cross the Russian-Ukrainian border, and had relevant contacts on the Ukrainian side. The investigation into the terrorist attack continues.”

WHAT IS ISIS-K?

The Islamic State is also known as ISIS, ISIL and Daesh. Russia prevented it from conquering Syria i.e., they’re enemies. ISIS has links to extremists in areas of Russia’s southern border, especially Chechnya.

This is a complex religious and territorial war. ISIS mostly operates in Iraq and Syria. It’s offshoot, ISIS-K, believes in a Caliphate called Khorasan (the “K” in their name). That’s a historical area stretching across parts of Iran, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Some believe it should reach the Caspian Sea.

On March 10, the Kremlin reported that 32 Russian children had been repatriated from Syrian refugee camps, bringing the program’s total to 546 (from Iraq, Pakistan, Turkey and Syria).

WHAT NOW?

Through its Aamaq news agency, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, labelling the victims as “Christians”. I don’t have a copy of their statement but their terror claim is plausible despite lack of confirmation from the Kremlin.

On March 7, the FSB stated it had stopped a terror attack on a Jewish synagogue in Moscow, killing a 6-man cell in a shootout, days earlier.

The same day, the USA non-specifically warned citizens abroad that more attacks were possible, and advised them to avoid large gatherings for 48hrs. Publicly, that was treated as fearmongering by Russia, but, behind the scenes, because of the attack they’d just prevented, the FSB would have been seeking to identify more threats. Furthermore, the USA said today that it wasn’t aware if there was a connection between their warning and the theatre assault.

The irony of the American warning is that the USA and ISIS have been fighting Russia in Syria, the Russians there at the invite of the Syrian government, the Americans there to protect the theft of Syria’s oil. Details of the info the Americans had of a terrorist threat to Moscow needs revealing.

In light of adversaries Russia and the USA being in agreement, we can exclude the overused “it was a false flag attack” by Russia on itself.

Russia was already turning its “special military operation” into “war” in Ukraine. There’s been galvanisation with Ukraine’s recent attacks on Russian villages and oil refineries, particularly on Belgorod city. Notably, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov used the word “war” twice, the morning before the attack on the Picnic concert. The use of that never-used word was deliberate and thus major news. Expect a major offensive late Spring, or Summer.

Association is a different type of opportunism propaganda e.g., the BBC reporting that Crocus City Hall hosted Trump's Miss Universe, and that it somehow relates to Trump trying to get dirt on Hilary Clinton (no, I’m not linking - don’t spread propaganda).

The Russian Defence Ministry hasn’t released a report on the Crocus incident. This is early days, facts are being collected, understanding takes time. Consequently, this isn’t the final version of this post. You’re encouraged to use the comment section to correct me, or share breaking news and links to good video footage.

MORAL EQUIVALENCE

Remember that ISIS killed 130 during a multi-pronged terror attack in Paris in 2015. 90 of those were at the Eagles of Death Metal concert in the Bataclan Theatre. The similarity to the Picnic concert is striking. It would be decent if the world showed the same sympathy to Russia’s dead.

Picnic’s latest music video is appropriately ‘Don’t Be Afraid of Anything’.

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UPDATES

RELIGIOUS TERRORISTS OR HITMEN?

Who hired the terrorists that attacked Russia? That’s the biggest question for anyone following the story. If not, you’ll be saying “Wait a minute. Religious terrorists do it for God, not money!”

I haven’t shared videos of the alleged terrorists, including one of them being tortured, because I want to play safe instead of being a media pawn.

But tabloid styled channels from the West and India have started to mention them, and share images from the capture videos circulating on Telegram and non-YouTube stations. If they prove true, then they were probably leaked by the FSB so that Russians know their government is at work, and so that they control the narrative.

If true, then the terrorists are idiots, and hitmen for money. That switcheroo would be like watching exhilarating ‘Battlestar Galactica’ straight after a soapified episode of “Days of Our Lives’.

Consequently, I take a hesitant step and share a portion from Dima, a Belarusian war analyst for the Military Summary Channel.

‘Who Controls South Africa (part 1)’ was met with great interest, but you’ll understand why I’m delaying the next episode.