A girl locations flowers in reminiscence of the victims of the assault in Moscow, within the heart of Simferopol, in Russian-held Crimea, Sunday, March 24, 2024.

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A girl locations flowers in reminiscence of the victims of the assault in Moscow, within the heart of Simferopol, in Russian-held Crimea, Sunday, March 24, 2024.

AP

MOSCOW — Family and associates of these nonetheless lacking after an assault that killed greater than 130 folks at a suburban Moscow live performance corridor waited for information of their family members as Russia noticed a day of nationwide mourning on Sunday.

Events at cultural establishments had been canceled, flags had been lowered to half-staff and tv leisure and promoting had been suspended, based on state information company RIA Novosti. A gentle stream of individuals added to a makeshift memorial close to the burnt-out live performance corridor, creating an enormous mound of flowers.

“People came to a concert, some people came to relax with their families, and any one of us could have been in that situation. And I want to express my condolences to all the families that were affected here and I want to pay tribute to these people,” Andrey Kondakov, one of many mourners who got here to put flowers on the memorial, informed The Associated Press.

“It is a tragedy that has affected our entire country,” kindergarten worker Marina Korshunova stated. “It just doesn’t even make sense that small children were affected by this event.” Three youngsters had been among the many useless.

The assault, which has been claimed by an affiliate of the Islamic State group, is the deadliest on Russian soil in years.

As rescuers proceed to look the broken constructing and the demise toll rises as extra our bodies are discovered, some households nonetheless do not know if family who went to the occasion focused by gunmen on Friday are alive. Moscow’s Department of Health stated Sunday it has begun figuring out the our bodies of these killed through DNA testing, which can want not less than two weeks.

Igor Pogadaev was desperately looking for any particulars of his spouse’s whereabouts after she went to the live performance and stopped responding to his messages.

He hasn’t seen a message from Yana Pogadaeva since she despatched her husband two images from the Crocus City Hall music venue.

After Pogadaev noticed the reviews of gunmen opening fireplace on concertgoers, he rushed to the location, however could not discover her within the quite a few ambulances or among the many tons of of people that had made their approach out of the venue.

People lay flowers at a spontaneous memorial in reminiscence of the victims of Moscow assault in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Sunday.

Dmitri Lovetsky/AP

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Dmitri Lovetsky/AP

People lay flowers at a spontaneous memorial in reminiscence of the victims of Moscow assault in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Sunday.

Dmitri Lovetsky/AP

“I went around, searched, I asked everyone, I showed photographs. No one saw anything, no one could say anything,” Pogadaev informed the AP in a video message.

He watched flames bursting out of the constructing as he made frantic calls to a hotline for family of the victims, however obtained no info.

As the demise toll mounted on Saturday, Pogodaev scoured hospitals within the Russian capital and the Moscow area, searching for info on newly admitted sufferers.

But his spouse wasn’t among the many 154 reported injured, nor on the listing of fifty victims authorities have already recognized, he stated.

Refusing to consider that his spouse could possibly be one of many 137 individuals who died within the assault, Pogadaev nonetheless hasn’t gone dwelling.

“I couldn’t be alone anymore, it’s very difficult, so I drove to my friend’s,” he stated. “Now at least I’ll be with someone.”

The Moscow Region’s Emergency Situations Ministry posted a video Sunday displaying gear dismantling the broken music venue to present rescuers entry.

Meanwhile, President Vladimir Putin seems to be attempting to tie Ukraine to the assault, one thing its authorities firmly denies.

Russian authorities arrested 4 suspected attackers on Saturday, Putin stated in an nighttime deal with to the nation, amongst 11 folks detained suspicion of involvement within the assault. He stated that they had been captured whereas fleeing to Ukraine.

Though no court docket listening to has been formally introduced, there was a heavy police presence round Moscow’s Basmanny District Court on Sunday. Police tried to drive journalists away from the court docket.

Putin referred to as the assault “a bloody, barbaric terrorist act” and stated Russian authorities captured the 4 suspects as they had been attempting to flee to Ukraine by means of a “window” ready for them on the Ukrainian aspect of the border.

Russian media broadcast movies that apparently confirmed the detention and interrogation of the suspects, together with one who informed the cameras he was approached by an unidentified assistant to an Islamic preacher through a messaging app and paid to participate within the raid.

Kyiv strongly denied any involvement, and the Islamic State group’s Afghanistan affiliate claimed duty.

Putin did not point out IS in his speech to the nation, and Kyiv accused him and different Russian politicians of falsely linking Ukraine to the assault to stoke fervor for Russia’s struggle in Ukraine, which just lately entered its third yr.

U.S. intelligence officers stated they’d confirmed the IS affiliate’s declare.

“ISIS bears sole responsibility for this attack. There was no Ukrainian involvement whatsoever,” National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson stated in an announcement.

The U.S. shared info with Russia in early March a couple of deliberate terrorist assault in Moscow, and issued a public warning to Americans in Russia, Watson stated.

The raid was a significant embarrassment for the Russian chief and occurred simply days after he cemented his grip on the nation for one more six years in a vote that adopted the harshest crackdown on dissent for the reason that Soviet instances.

Russian President’s Flag flies at half mast over the Kremlin in Moscow. Russia noticed a nationwide day of mourning on Sunday, two days after an assault on a suburban Moscow live performance corridor that killed over 130 folks.

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Russian President’s Flag flies at half mast over the Kremlin in Moscow. Russia noticed a nationwide day of mourning on Sunday, two days after an assault on a suburban Moscow live performance corridor that killed over 130 folks.

Vitaly Smolnikov/AP

Some commentators on Russian social media questioned how authorities, who’ve relentlessly suppressed any opposition actions and muzzled impartial media, failed to forestall the assault regardless of the U.S. warnings.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated in an announcement that the U.S. condemned the assault and stated that the Islamic State group is a “common terrorist enemy that must be defeated everywhere.”

IS, which fought towards Russia throughout its intervention within the Syrian civil conflict, has lengthy focused Russia. In an announcement posted by the group’s Aamaq information company, the IS Afghanistan affiliate stated that it had attacked a big gathering of “Christians” in Krasnogorsk.

The group issued a brand new assertion Saturday on Aamaq, saying the assault was carried out by 4 males who used computerized rifles, a pistol, knives and firebombs. It stated the assailants fired on the crowd and used knives to kill some concertgoers, casting the raid as a part of the Islamic State group’s ongoing conflict with international locations that it says are combating towards Islam.

In October 2015, a bomb planted by IS downed a Russian passenger aircraft over Sinai, killing all 224 folks on board, most of them Russian vacationers coming back from Egypt.

The group, which operates primarily in Syria and Iraq but additionally in Afghanistan and Africa, additionally has claimed duty for a number of assaults in Russia’s risky Caucasus and different areas in previous years. It recruited fighters from Russia and different elements of the previous Soviet Union.