At least 137 killed in Crocus City Hall attack by gunmen in camouflage; deadliest Da\u2019ish claimed attack in Europe
\n Moscow
\nThe Kremlin refused to comment Monday on Da\u2019ish\u2019s claims that it was behind the deadliest attack in Russia in two decades, as rescuers searched for bodies amid the rubble of the burnt-out Moscow concert hall.
\nAt least 137 people were killed when gunmen in camouflage stormed Crocus City Hall, shooting spectators before setting the building on fire in the most fatal attack in Europe to have been claimed by Da\u2019ish.
\nThe group has said several times since Friday that it carried out the attack, and Da\u2019ish-affiliated media channels have published videos of the gunmen inside the venue shooting concert-goers.
\nBut in his only public remarks on the massacre, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday pointed to a possible Ukraine connection, and no senior Russian official has commented on the Da\u2019ish claims.
\n\u201cThe investigation is still ongoing. No coherent version has yet been voiced,\u201d Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday when asked why Russia had not addressed Da\u2019ish\u2019s claimed involvement.
\n\u201cWe are talking only about preliminary data. No version has been put forward yet,\u201d he added.
\nOfficials expect the death toll to rise further, as rescuers were searching the site for remains on Monday and 97 are still in hospital.
\nPutin has no plans to visit the site of the attack, on the northwestern edge of Moscow, Peskov said.
\nHe will hold a meeting with Russia\u2019s security chiefs, government officials and the heads of Moscow and the Moscow region later Monday.
\nThe Kremlin also on Monday expressed confidence in the country\u2019s powerful security agencies, as questions swirl over how they failed to thwart the massacre despite public and private warnings by the United States\u2019 intelligence apparatus.
\n\u201cSpecial services are working tirelessly, dealing with all the threats, all the challenges facing our country and society,\u201d Peskov said.
\nPutin, a former Soviet spy, headed the FSB briefly before becoming president and takes pride in its reputation as a team of feared intelligence operators.
\nA Moscow court has remanded four suspected gunmen in custody on \u201cterror\u201d charges, accusing them of being the assailants who stormed the concert hall and then set it on fire on Friday night.
\nThey face life in prison, though some Russian officials have called for the lifting of a moratorium on the death penalty to deliver even harsher sentences.
\nThe Kremlin said Monday that it was not involved in discussions about possibly bringing back capital punishment.
\nIn a series of late-night court hearings in Moscow that ran into the early hours of Monday, the four men \u2014 with bruises and cuts on their swollen faces \u2014 were dragged in amid dozens of reporters who had assembled at the capital\u2019s Basmanny district court.
\nFSB officers wheeled one in to the hearing on a gurney, his eyes barely open.
\nPeskov refused to comment on reports and videos on social media that showed bloody interrogations of the suspects after they were arrested on Saturday.
\nThe court identified them as Muhammadsobir Fayzov, Shamsidin Fariduni, Rachabalizoda Saidakrami and Dalerjon Mirzoyev. Russian state media said they were all citizens of Tajikistan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
At least 137 killed in Crocus City Hall attack by gunmen in camouflage; deadliest Da\u2019ish claimed attack in Europe Moscow The Kremlin refused to comment Monday on Da\u2019ish\u2019s claims that it was behind the deadliest attack in Russia in two decades, as rescuers searched for bodies amid the rubble of the burnt-out Moscow concert hall. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":396278,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-396260","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n