ISIS bears “sole responsibility,” the US has insisted
There is no evidence the Ukrainian government was involved in the Crocus City massacre, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Monday.
More than 130 people were killed at the concert venue northwest of Moscow on Friday evening, when several armed men began shooting into the crowd then set the hall on fire. A terrorist group calling itself Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K) has claimed responsibility.
“ISIS bears the sole responsibility here, the sole responsibility,” Jean-Pierre insisted. “[Russian President Vladimir] Putin understands that. We shared that with their government. And so there is no evidence, absolutely no evidence, that Ukraine was involved there.”
Jean-Pierre specifically referred to the March 7 public advisory, warning Americans in Russia to stay away from concert venues due to a threat of attacks by “extremists.” She said this was communicated to the Russian government as well, but would not answer as to how.
Russian security services detained four alleged perpetrators of the Crocus City Hall massacre, as well as seven of their suspected accomplices. The men were identified as ethnic Tajiks.
“This attack was carried out by radical Islamists,” Putin said in a meeting with law enforcement officials on Monday evening. “But we know who carried out the attack. We want to know who ordered it.”
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