Vladimir Putin in an attempt to ward off ‘blaming fingers’ pointing at him over the Moscow concert hall tragedy, he is casting fresh doubt the alleged news thag U.S. officials ‘let him on’ on what’s coming 3 days prior the terrorist attack.
Updates So Far
ISIS twice claimed responsibility for the attack over the weekend, first posting a selfie taken by the four men, all of whom are Russian citizens, in front of an ISIS flag before posting a 90-second selfie video of the devastating attack from the terrorists’ perspective.
But Russian authorities, at this time, are trying to discredit the direct claims made by the terror group, instead appearing to blame the attack on the West, after it emerged that the US tried to warn Russia about the massacre weeks before it happened.
Russia Doubts U.S Intelligence
In a piece published in Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda, foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova called ISIS’ claims of responsibility into question.
‘Attention – a question to the White House: Are you sure it’s ISIS? Might you think again about that’, she wrote.
Days before the attack, one of the attackers was at the venue, staking it out, it is now revealed.
Zakharova in her words accused the United State of spreading a version of the ‘bogeyman’ of Islamic State to cover its ‘wards’ in Kyiv and reminded readers that Washington supported the ‘mujahideen’ fighters who fought Soviet forces in the 1980s.
Saying this, it worths mentioning that President Vladimir Putin also has not publicly mentioned the Islamist militant group in connection with the attackers, who he said had been trying to escape to Ukraine.
READ ALSO: Pregnant teen, 18, found holding dead baby in cell after cries for help ignored for 12 hours
Putin Blames Ukraine For The Moscow Attack
Putin said some people on ‘the Ukrainian side’ had been prepared to spirit the gunmen across the border.
Ukraine has nevertheless denied any role in the attack and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has accused Putin of seeking to divert blame for the concert hall attack by referring to Ukraine.
The Friday’s attack that killed nearly 140 people, is dubbed the deadliest attack on Russia’s soil in recent years.
The four suspects have been captured and two of them were charged overnight with terrorism after they pleaded guilty.
