Terrorist attack in Moscow: death toll rises to 143

This emerges from a list that the Russian Civil Defense published on Wednesday evening. The Ministry of Health had previously spoken of 140 deaths. According to the head of the authority, Mikhail Muraschko, 80 victims of the attack are still in clinics in Moscow and the surrounding area, including six children. The condition of four patients is still very critical.

360 injured

In last Friday’s attack, four gunmen shot around in the Crocus City Hall concert hall. According to information on Wednesday, a total of 360 people were injured, 155 of whom had to be treated in hospitals. The terrorist organization Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for this, the worst attack in Russia in years. Russian politicians also speak of Islamist terrorists. However, they assume that they could have acted on behalf of Ukraine or its Western supporters. They don’t provide any evidence for this.

• Also read: After the terror in Moscow, anger is directed at Tajik migrants

The authorities are investigating terrorism and have so far arrested eleven people, including the four suspected shooters. According to the passports found, they come from the Central Asian Republic of Tajikistan. The unhindered entry of the armed men into the event center, which was occupied by thousands of visitors, is considered a serious failure by the Russian security forces. Parliament Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin called on the relevant committees in the State Duma on Wednesday to improve security rules for mass events.

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, said opponents of Russia wanted to exploit its internal problems. An attempt was made to create enmity between the two major ancestral religions of Christianity and Islam in Russia. “Of course we can’t allow this,” Kirill said at a meeting in Moscow, according to the Tass agency.