Global Courant
When four suspects were charged in the deadly terrorist attack on a concert at Moscow’s Crocus City Hall, Russia’s ambassador to the United States claimed that the US government had not passed on “concrete information” through the Russian embassy in Washington about possible preparations for an act of terror. attack.
Russian investigators said the attack killed at least 137 people, including three children, and injured 182 others. At least 101 of the victims were being treated in hospitals on Sunday, Russian officials said.
Russian authorities identified the two suspects charged in Friday’s attack as Dalerjon Mirzoev and Rachabalizod Saïdakrami Murodali, the press services of Moscow’s Basmanny court told Russia’s Interfax news agency on Sunday.
The suspects are accused of committing a terrorist attack that resulted in the death of a person as part of an organized group, Interfax reports. The suspects are in custody, but investigators are formally requesting their arrest.
“The court has received from the investigation petitions to select a preventive measure in the form of detention in connection with Dalerjon Mirzoev and Rachabalizod Saidakrami Murodali,” the press service reported.
The suspects face life in prison if convicted.
Late on Sunday and early Monday morning local time, two other suspects were brought before the Basmanny court – Muhammadsobir Zokirchonovich Fayzov and Shamsidin Fariduni – and charged with terrorism, according to the court. All suspects have been sentenced to pre-trial detention for at least two months.
Meanwhile, Anatoly Antonov, Russia’s ambassador to the United States, on Saturday denied a statement by a US State Department official that the US shared information about a possible attack with Russian authorities in accordance with its long-standing ‘duty to warn’ – policy.
“Nothing has been adopted,” Antonov told Russian state news agency TASS, answering a question about whether information had been transferred by the US before the terrorist act.
He added: “There is no concrete information, nothing has been communicated to us.”
A U.S. State Department official said Saturday that the U.S. government has shared information about a possible attack with Russian authorities, in line with its long-standing “duty to warn” policy.
A view shows the Crocus City Hall concert venue after Friday’s shooting and fire, in Moscow region, Russia, March 24, 2024.
Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
But US officials claimed the information sharing preceded Friday’s deadly attack on a site in Moscow.
The search for bodies under the rubble of the Crocus City Hall, one of the largest shopping and entertainment complexes in Russia, continued on Sunday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was told on Saturday that four suspected gunmen responsible for the attack had been arrested near Russia’s western border with Ukraine, Russian news agencies reported.
Members of Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry conduct search and rescue operations at the Crocus City Hall concert venue after a shooting and fire, outside Moscow, Russia, in this photo obtained March 24, 2024.
Obtained by Reuters/Reuters
Seven others have been arrested and the search for other accomplices is ongoing, state news channels reported.
ISIS on Friday evening claimed responsibility for the deadly attack, in which gunmen opened fire on concertgoers at one of Moscow’s largest entertainment complexes. The attackers then set the complex on fire.
People gather at a makeshift memorial for the victims of a shooting outside the Crocus City Hall concert venue in Moscow region, Russia, March 24, 2024.
Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
Antonov described Washington’s official response to Friday’s attack as “rather muted,” adding that the government followed up with a “clear” statement on Saturday. But it was unclear how much information Washington officials had passed on ahead of the attack, he said.
“The question arises whether US officials have passed on all available information to the Russian side, as they claim,” the ambassador said.
ABC News’ Shannon K. Crawford contributed to this story.
