Rferl | Saturday, March 23, 2024 
Russia Says 4 Foreign Suspects Detained As Death Toll From Concert Attack Reaches 133

Rescuers pulled more bodies from the rubble of a Moscow-area concert venue on March 23 as the toll from a deadly attack claimed by the Islamic State (IS) militant group reached 133 and security officials said four suspected gunmen had been detained in connection with Russia’s worst terrorist violence in nearly two decades. Russian officials said the suspects were all foreign nationals and that 11 people, in all, had been detained. The day after camouflaged gunmen burst into the Crocus City Hall and opened fire on people waiting for a concert to begin, the national Investigative Committee warned that the death toll was expected to climb further as searchers recovered more victims from the wreckage of the hall. More than 120 people were wounded and remained hospitalized in various conditions, health officials said. The incident was Russia’s worst terrorist attack in nearly two decades. Hundreds of mourners solemnly heaped flowers, stuffed animals, and messages of grief or defiance on the pavement…Read more