France: Attack on Concert Hall in Moscow Was by ISIS, Not Ukraine

Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, stated on Monday, March 6, that all signs indicate that the attack on the concert hall near Moscow, which resulted in 137 deaths, was carried out by ISIS. He criticized Russia for attempting to blame Ukraine for the attack, calling it 'pessimistic and unconstructive.' Russia challenged statements from the United States and other countries claiming that ISIS organized the armed attack, accusing Washington of wanting to hide Ukraine's role in it. Macron said, 'ISIS has claimed responsibility for this attack, and the information available to our intelligence services and our main partners actually shows that an ISIS group was involved in this attack.' Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, has not publicly linked this Islamist militant group to the deadly attack in Moscow but mentioned that the attackers had attempted to flee to Ukraine. Putin stated that some individuals in Ukraine were ready to assist the attackers in crossing the border. Ukraine has denied any involvement in the attack, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Putin of trying to divert public attention from the main perpetrators by blaming Ukraine. Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to the Ukrainian President, condemned the ISIS attack and rejected Putin's claims, stating, 'We are in an all-out war with the regular army of Russia and with the Russian Federation as a country. Regardless of everything, the fate of this war will only be determined on the battlefield.' Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, questioned the U.S. statements that ISIS was behind the attack. Earlier, the U.S. Embassy in Russia warned that 'extremists' had immediate plans for an attack in Moscow just hours after the Russian Federal Security Service announced that it had thwarted an attack on a synagogue in Moscow by a group of Sunni Islamist ISIS members. The White House spokesperson, in a statement released on Saturday, referred to ISIS claiming responsibility for the attack, stating, 'ISIS is a common terrorist enemy that must be defeated everywhere.' Macron noted that ISIS, which claimed responsibility for the Moscow attack, had also attempted to carry out attacks in France. France raised its terrorism alert level to the highest following the Moscow attack. He also stated, 'We have proposed increasing cooperation with Russian intelligence services and our partners in the region to quickly find those responsible for this attack and continue effective action against these groups that target several countries.' National mourning was declared in Russia; the U.S. strongly condemned the deadly attack in Moscow. Almost all Middle Eastern countries condemned the attack near Moscow. The latest details regarding the attack near Moscow and widespread criticism from the international community were shared. The U.S. Ambassador in Baghdad stated that ISIS remains a threat in Iraq and is a 'common enemy.' The U.S. condemned the deadly terrorist attack in the outskirts of Moscow. Zelensky stated that Putin is seeking to blame others instead of caring for his own citizens. The White House strongly condemned the 'deadly terrorist attack' in Moscow. Putin claimed that the attackers were trying to flee to Ukraine; Kyiv denied any involvement in the attack on the outskirts of Moscow.