As questions remain concerning whether at all the group
was behind the attack, here is what you need to know
about ISIS-K.
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What We Know About ISIS-K, Alleged Perpetrators of
Moscow Concert Hall Massacre
A file photo shows the ISIS terrorist group's flap.
(Hussein Malla/AP Photo)
By Bill Pan
3/23/2024
Updated:
3/23/2024
At least 133 people died in a massacre at a concert hall
in Moscow on Friday night in what was the deadliest
terror attack on Russian soil in over a decade. Islamic
State Khorasan (ISIS-K), a terrorist group based in
Afghanistan, claimed responsibility for the carnage.
The ISIS branch claimed responsibility for the massacre
in a statement posted on affiliated social media
channels, although neither the Kremlin nor Russian
security services have officially assigned blame for the
attack.
A U.S. intelligence official, meanwhile, told The
Associated Press that U.S. intelligence agencies had
confirmed that ISIS was responsible for the attack.
Hinting at a potential Ukrainian involvement, Russian
President Vladimir Putin claimed on Saturday that the
attackers have co-conspirators on the Ukrainian side of
the border. “They were traveling towards Ukraine where,
according to preliminary information, they had a window
to cross the border,” he said on Saturday.
While questions remain concerning what the group’s
motivations were or whether at all the group was behind
the attack, here is what is known about ISIS-K.
Who Is ISIS-K?
Emerging in eastern Afghanistan in late 2014, ISIS-K
remains one of the most active terrorist groups that
fight under the ISIS banner. It has said it aims to
create an Islamic caliphate spanning across West and
Central Asia.
Over the past decade, ISIS-K has established a
reputation for brutality, sometimes fighting against the
Taliban, who now run the country after the United States
and its allies withdrew their forces in August 2021. The
group’s targets also include Iran, the Islamic Republic
dominated by a clerical hierarchy following the Shia
school they consider heretics.
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In January, nearly 100 people were killed in two
explosions at a ceremony in Iran to commemorate
commander Qassem Soleimani, who died in a U.S. drone
strike four years ago. ISIS-K claimed responsibility for
the attack, which was confirmed by U.S. intelligence.
In September 2022, ISIS-K claimed responsibility for a
deadly suicide bombing at the Russian embassy in Kabul,
the capital of Afghanistan. Russia is one of the few
countries to have maintained a diplomatic mission in
Kabul after the Taliban takeover. While the Kremlin does
not officially recognize the Taliban regime, there have
been talks over a potential deal to import Russian oil
products in exchange for Afghan minerals.
ISIS-K’s active opposition against Taliban rule also
extends to Beijing, which is seeking to forge a closer
tie with the new regime in an effort to secure trade
routes and access to raw materials critical to its
military buildup. In December 2022, ISIS-K bombed a
Chinese-owned Kabul hotel that served mostly Chinese
nationals.
Amid the chaotic 2021 evacuation, a suicide bomber
detonated explosives at Kabul International Airport,
claiming the lives of 13 U.S. service members and more
than 150 Afghans seeking to flee the country. Last
April, the White House told families of the 11 Marines,
the sailor, and the soldier killed in the blast that the
ISIS-K leader who organized the airport attack was
“killed in a Taliban operation.”
On March 7, the top general overseeing the U.S. military
operations in the Middle East warned that ISIS-K appears
to be gaining momentum toward launching attacks on the
soil of Western countries.
“I assess ISIS-Khorasan retains the capability and will
to attack U.S. and Western interests abroad in as little
as six months and with little to no warning,” said Army
Gen. Michael Kurilla, commander of the U.S. Central
Command.
At the same time, The U.S. Embassy in Russia issued a
warning that an “imminent” terrorist attack would occur
in Moscow, telling Americans in the city to avoid
crowds, monitor local media, and be aware of their
surroundings.
This warning came hours after Russian officials said
they successfully prevented an ISIS-K attack targeting a
synagogue in the city. The Russian Federal Security
Service, the country’s counterintelligence agency, said
the terrorists were “preparing to attack the congregants
of a synagogue using firearms” and were “neutralized”
during a gunfight.
Russia Pursues a Potential Ukrainian Link
In a televised address, Mr. Putin hinted at a potential
connection between Friday’s massacre and Ukraine, which
has entered its third year in fending off a full-scale
Russian invasion.
“I am speaking to you today in connection with the
bloody, barbaric terrorist act, the victims of which
were dozens of innocent, peaceful people,” Mr. Putin,
who recently won a landslide reelection victory, said in
his first public remarks since the attack.
“All four perpetrators of the terrorist attack who shot
and killed people have been detained. They were
traveling towards Ukraine where, according to
preliminary information, they had a window to cross the
border,” he said.
Ukraine has denied any involvement and has accused the
Kremlin of exploiting the attack to whip up domestic
support for its war effort.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has denied any involvement.
“Ukraine has never resorted to the use of terrorist
methods,” he said in a post on X. “Everything in this
war will be decided only on the battlefield.
“There is not the slightest doubt that the events in the
Moscow suburbs will contribute to a sharp increase in
military propaganda, accelerated militarization,
expanded mobilization, and, ultimately, the scaling up
of the war,” he said in the post. “And also to justify
manifest genocidal strikes against the civilian
population of Ukraine.”
Ukraine’s foreign ministry also denied that the country
had any involvement and accused Moscow of using the
attack to try to build support for its war effort.
“We consider such accusations to be a planned
provocation by the Kremlin to further fuel anti-
Ukrainian hysteria in Russian society, create conditions
for increased mobilization of Russian citizens to
participate in the criminal aggression against our
country and discredit Ukraine in the eyes of the
international community,” the ministry said in a
statement.
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