ALBAWABA - According to TASS News Agency, the Russian Ministry of Health stated that the death toll following the tragic concert hall attack has soared to 154 with dozens of others injured.
On Friday evening, masked gunmen entered and set fire to the Crocus City Hall in Moscow's northern district of Krasnogorsk, killing at least 154 people.
The Islamic State organization on Saturday claimed on Telegram that the attack was "carried out by four IS fighters armed with machine guns, a pistol, knives, and firebombs,".
Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed to punish those responsible for the "barbaric terrorist attack," saying that four gunmen were trying to flee to Ukraine, however, they have been captured.
Some witnesses filmed the gunmen from the upper floors as they walked through the stalls shooting people, and sharing the footage on social media.
Then "the terrorists used a flammable liquid to set fire to the concert hall's premises, where spectators were located, including wounded," the Investigative Committee said.
Russian media showed footage of security forces questioning four men covered in blood, speaking Russian with an accent on a road in the western Bryansk district, which borders Ukraine and Belarus.
"They tried to escape and were traveling towards Ukraine, where, according to preliminary data, a window was prepared for them on the Ukrainian side to cross the state border," stated Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Kyiv has flatly denied any connection, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accusing Putin of attempting to transfer blame to them. Zelenskyy, in his evening address on Saturday, dismissed the suggestion that Kyiv had been involved.
The Investigative Committee stated that the death toll had reached 154, and the governor of the Moscow area stated that rescuers will continue to search the site for "several days". According to Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova, approximately 107 individuals remained in hospitals, several of whom were in severe condition.
