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Two U.S. officials said Friday that they have received information supporting the Islamic State’s claim that it was responsible for the shooting at a concert near Moscow.
Officials said the United States had warned Russia in recent weeks about a possible attack.
Spokesman Adrian Watson said: “Earlier this month, the U.S. government received information about a planned terrorist attack in Moscow, which may have targeted large gatherings, including concerts.” We have issued public advisories to Americans.” White House National Security Council. “The U.S. government also shared this information with Russian authorities, consistent with its long-standing ‘duty to warn’ policy.”
Gunmen in camouflage uniforms opened fire on concertgoers with automatic weapons near Moscow on Friday, killing at least 60 people and wounding 145 in one of the deadliest attacks on Russia in decades. did.
The Islamic State, an extremist group that once sought control over large swaths of Iraq and Syria, claimed responsibility for the attack, the group’s Amaq agency announced on Telegram.
The death toll marks one of the worst attacks on Russia since the 2004 Beslan school siege, when Islamic extremists took more than 1,000 people hostage, including hundreds of children.
“We have properly warned the Russians,” one U.S. official said on condition of anonymity.
Hours after Russian security officials said they had thwarted a plot by Islamic State cells to shoot up a synagogue, the U.S. Embassy in Russia said on March 8 that “extremists” were planning an imminent attack in Moscow. I warned you.
The embassy, which has repeatedly called on all U.S. citizens to leave Russia immediately, did not provide details on the nature of the threat but said people should avoid concerts and crowds and be aware of their surroundings. .
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 caused the most serious crisis in Russia’s relations with the West since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.
The Kremlin has accused the United States of supporting Ukraine with money, weapons and intelligence in its fight against Russia, and says relations with the United States are perhaps at an all-time low.
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