ISIS claims responsibility for deadly Crocus City Hall attack in Russia

The ISIS terrorist group has claimed responsibility for last night's deadly attack at Russia's Crocus City Hall.

Last night, Friday, March 22, five armed men stormed the 6,000-seat Crocus City Hall, opened fire on the crowd, and then set the venue on fire. The fire at the Crocus City Hall concert hall in northwest Moscow left at least 80 dead and more than 140 injured.

Hours after the attack, the ISIS terrorist group claimed responsibility for the deadly attack in a statement on the group's official media outlet, Nasher News. The statement read: "Islamic State forces targeted a large gathering of Christians in the city of Krasnogorsk, a suburb of Moscow, Russia, killing and wounding hundreds of people and causing severe damage to the site before returning safely to their base."

The Russian government has canceled all weekend events and gatherings, and Russian security officials said one of the attackers had been arrested. Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of Russia's National Security Council, responded to the deadly attack by saying: "Terrorists understand no language other than revenge. If we don't respond to force with force, no trial or investigation will be of any use." Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin also called the deadly attack a "terrible tragedy."

Given that the ISIS group claimed responsibility for the attack, some have stated that the Russian government is behind the attack to have an excuse to spread the war to other parts, but the Russians hold Ukraine responsible for these attacks.

White House National Security Spokesperson John Kirby also expressed regret over the deadly attack, telling reporters: "There is currently no indication that Ukraine or Ukrainians were involved in this shooting. We are investigating the matter."

Mykhailo Podoliak, an advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, also denied involvement in the attacks, saying: "Ukraine definitely has nothing to do with the shooting and explosion in Crocus Hall and the killing of Christians. Ukraine has been fighting the Russian army for more than two years, and everything in this war is decided only on the battlefield. Terrorist attacks do not solve any problems with the quantity of weapons and qualitative military decisions alone."

The presidential advisor also emphasized that Ukraine has never resorted to the use of terrorist methods, and this is meaningless, unlike Russia, which is using terrorist attacks in the current war against Ukraine.