ISIS released a grotesque video of their attack on a Moscow concert hall where 133 people, including children, were slaughtered.
Horror footage appears to show the four gunmen prowling the halls of the venue – stopping to butcher an injured victim as one terrorist screams “kill them all”.
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Previously seen footage showed the ISIS-K gunmen storming the Crocus City Hall on the outskirts of Moscow
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Police and emergency services at the scene of the attackCredit: AFP
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The terrorists started a fire inside the building so no one could escapeCredit: AFP
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A twisted picture showed the gunmen pointing to an ISIS flag before the attack
Terrorists stormed the building, unleashing hellfire with machine guns and sparking a blaze to stop survivors from getting out alive.
At least four gunmen from the notorious terror group swarmed the Crocus City Hall venue on the outskirts of Moscow during a rock show by the band Picnic.
Russia said the four suspected shooters had been arrested along with at least seven others in connection with its deadliest terrorist attack in 20 years.
In the hours since the massacre, ISIS released the twisted 90 second video from inside the concert hall.
The Sun has chosen not to publish the disturbing footage.
It shows at least four men, with machine guns and knives, walking past bodies on the floor.
One goes into the concert hall arena and opening fire, as people lie dead on the floor around him.
Another member of the group is seen repeatedly stabbing someone laying on the ground.
The men can be heard shouting and screaming in the video, warped by voice-changing tech.
ISIS-K, a hideous splinter group of the Islamic State death cult, claimed responsibility for Friday’s attack.
Despite this, a raging Putin attempted to level baseless accusations at Ukraine for involvement in the heinous rampage.
Russian firefighters and emergency workers have so far confirmed 133 dead, as over 100 more are receiving urgent medical care in hospital.
As they continue to search the wreckage of the burnt-out hall, the grim toll is expected to rise.
After arresting the suspected shooters, Russia released grim footage of their interrogation and torture.
And horrific witness testimonies have surfaced over the weekend, painting a picture of sheer terror inside the venue during the attack.
Terrorists wearing masks and brandishing heavy-duty machine guns stormed the Crocus City Hall filled with 6,000 people on Friday night.
They unleashed bullets on innocent civilians, there to see Russian rock band Picnic, at point-blank range.
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Terrified concert-goers tried to escape as shots rang out
The fanatics stormed through glass doors and turnstiles before reaching the hall itself, witnesses said.
They then started a fire which ripped through the building, trapping desperate people as they tried to flee.
Witnesses described how four armed men walked calmly towards the metal detectors at Crocus City Hall, firing their weapons bursts as terrified civilians fell screaming in a hail of bullets.
Footage showed dozens of bodies, some in pools of blood, lying motionless on the marble floors and at the main entrance.
Devastating footage showed piles of bodies outside the blackened concert venue on the western edge of Moscow on Saturday.
Firefighters and emergency workers finished their initial search of the burnt wreckage on Saturday evening after recovering 133 bodies.
Russia said over 100 more are fighting for their lives in hospital, and the death toll is expected to rise.
The bodies of whole families were found with dead mothers embracing their dead children, Russian media reported.
The Islamic State later claimed responsibility for the massacre and even released a picture apparently showing the four suspects next to an ISIS flag before they stormed the concert hall.
Russia’s security service (FSB) launched a manhunt to catch the shooters on Saturday and captured 11 suspects, including four it says were “directly” involved.
Two were caught after a car chase while two more fled into a forest before being detained – all have been named and pictured by the FSB.
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The suspected attackers as they tried to flee
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An image of the four suspected shooters released by the FSB
Russia has been releasing gruesome footage of their interrogations, including a grisly video of one suspect appearing to be fed his own ear after it was cut from his head.
US officials claim they have intelligence to confirm the plot was masterminded by the ISIS splinter cell operating in Afghanistan, known as ISIS -K.
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the massacre and even released a picture purporting to show the four suspects posing next to the death cult’s flag before they stormed the concert hall.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, 71, told Russian civilians he would “punish” those responsible for the massacre in a televised address to the nation on Saturday.
A furious Putin then attempted to suggest the gunmen were trying to escape to Ukraine when they were caught.
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A furious Putin made baseless claims against Ukraine after the massacre
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The gunmen hunting people in the concert hall
A spokesman for Kyiv’s military spy agency hit back at the baseless allegations and said any suggestions of a Ukrainian link “have nothing in common with reality”.
Ukrainian President Zelensky added that Putin was looking to shift the blame for Friday’s massacre.
He said it was “absolutely predictable” that Putin had stayed quiet for 24 hours before breaking his silence to tie the rampage to Kyiv.
Putin had reportedly rubbished warnings from the US and UK about an “imminent” terror attack just three days before.
British and US intelligence services alerted Russia earlier this month of the threat of a terror attack on Moscow – something the Kremlin sought to downplay, describing it as “provocative”.
Ex-UK defence boss Ben Wallace described Putin as man who has “lies dripping from his lips” and who has convinced himself of a “warped” worldview.
In his speech Putin, declared March 24 a day of national mourning for the victims.
Unblinking and tight-lipped, he said: “I am speaking to you today in connection with the bloody, barbaric terrorist act, the victims of which were dozens of innocent, peaceful people.”
He continued: “All four perpetrators of the terrorist act who shot and killed people have been detained.
“They were travelling towards Ukraine … We will identify and punish everybody who stood behind the terrorists, who prepared the attack.”
Horrifying accounts have emerged in the wake of the shooting attack.
One survivor, Natalya, said: “The shots came from behind us.
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Emergency workers searching for people in the wreckageCredit: AP
“It was loud, like a firecracker blast, fireworks, but like an automatic burst. I could hear it right behind me, not far away.”
Then Natalya ran for her life. “Everyone was screaming; everyone was running.”
Another witness said: “We huddled in a corner at the entrance. He [gunman] came up and started shooting directly at people.”
Another woman told how she feigned being shot – which saved her life.
She said: “They [the terrorists] were standing at the exit, we didn’t go there, but they saw us.”
“I fell on the floor, and pretended to die. A girl next to me was killed.”
Cops managed to evacuate over 100 people hiding in the basement of the concert hall on Friday evening.
Some of the attackers had barricaded themselves inside the venue, making rescue efforts difficult as the fire burned.
Witnesses told of leaping over fire, some with their clothes melting, to escape the blaze.
It swiftly spread over an area of 12,900sqm, sending flames and a plume of black smoke billowing into the night sky.
The concert hall on Friday as it burned
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The smouldering wreckage of Crocus City Hall on SaturdayCredit: AFP
The Return of ISIS
ISIS’s infamous black flag is feared to be rising once again – with the attack on the Moscow hall being one of their bloodiest since they were defeated in the Middle East.
The terrorist groups attacks sparked horror around the world for years – and their violent videos showing beheadings, burnings and other executions shocked society to its core.
But it is feared that following on from the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan and the crisis in the Middle East following the October 7 massacre, the group is gathering strength.
US General Joel Vowell – who leads America’s efforts abroad to squash ISIS – warned that the threat of a suspected attack has risen 200 per cent in the last three months.
He has headed the ten year US-led coalition Operation Inherent Resolve against ISIS, which saw Western troops stationed in Iraq and Syria – two hotbeds of the terror group’s activity.
In January he met with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to talk about removing US troops from Iraq – but instead issued a disturbing message.
The Middle East expert explained that ISIS cells have been rallying their forces in the background, “in Syria and Iraq in the last 60 days in particular”.
Hamas, a Palestinian Islamist extremist movement, launched a brutal attack on Israel’s border in the early hours of October 7 2023 dubbed Israel’s “9/11” – killing over 1200 people.
Extremist Islamist groups including the Houthis and Hezbollah have aimed attacks at the US and the UK, citing support of Israel – because of their war against Hamas.
Professor Anthony Glees told The Sun that the Western world now faces threats “from all sides”, and that the fight against Hamas, the Houthis and Hezbollah shouldn’t detract from efforts to protect ourselves from older terrorist threats like ISIS.
“I absolutely think we are being assailed from all sides. That makes us vulnerable. And when you’re vulnerable, you get bullied and attacked.”
The security expert also told The Sun that he “absolutely” thinks it’s possible that we could be looking at a new wave of a terrorist threat like those seen over the last 20 years.
The raging threat of terror groups like Hamas, the Houthis and Hezbollah could be combined with attacks by organisations like ISIS on UK soil.
Ex-US General Ben Hodges said: “The UK is in a pre war environment. That means war is coming.”
Met Police commissioner Mark Rowley warned this time last year that Britain that the UK has tens of thousands of potential terrorists hiding in plain sight.
Sir Rowley warned that they were on the security services radar, and would need just a “spark” to act on their extremist beliefs.
Glees told The Sun that the events of October 7 and the ensuing war has “provided that spark”.
He said: “I think what has happened since the seventh of October, has, in a sense, provided a spark.”
Glees “absolutely” thinks the threat of a terror attack on British soil has been increased.
He warned that while we have a nuclear deterrent, which could be used to ward off certain enemies, it won’t prevent more conventional attacks like those that might come from a terrorist organisation like ISIS.