Moscow incident: The attack by camouflage-clad gunmen resulted in at least 60 fatalities and over 100 injuries.
Attack in Moscow: On Saturday, the US announced that it had information verifying that an ISIS branch was responsible for the shooting massacre at a concert close to Moscow.
In the attack, camouflage-clad gunmen caused over 100 injuries and at least 60 deaths. With weapons and incendiary devices, the attackers assaulted the arena, wreaking havoc.
In a statement, the Islamic State-Khorasan (ISIS-K) claimed to have killed and injured hundreds of “Christians” during an attack on a sizable gathering in Krasnogorsk, a city outside of Moscow. The statement’s veracity hasn’t been confirmed yet.
What is known about Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K), the Islamic State’s branch in Afghanistan, and its reasons for targeting Russia are as follows:
Named after an outdated designation for the area encompassing portions of Iran, Turkmenistan, and Afghanistan, Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K) first appeared in eastern Afghanistan at the end of 2014, according to Reuters.
Extreme violence is a well-known characteristic of the extremist group Islamic State’s regional offshoot.
Its membership peaked in 2018, but since then, it has declined as a result of US and Taliban initiatives.
ISIS-K, one of the most active militant groups affiliated with the Islamic State in the region, has seen a decrease in membership since reaching a peak in 2018. Both US and Taliban troops suffered severe casualties.
However, the US claims that since its forces left Afghanistan in 2021, its capacity to gather intelligence against terrorist organizations there, such ISIS-K, has decreased.
Previous assaults by ISIS-K
Known for its strikes all over the world, ISIS-K recently carried out twin blasts in Iran that claimed about 100 lives.
They took credit for the fatal suicide attack at the Russian embassy in Kabul in 2022.
They had targeted the airport in Kabul in 2021, killing thirteen US soldiers and civilians in the midst of a disorderly force withdrawal.
ISIS-K could strike US and Western targets outside of Afghanistan “in as little as six months and with little to no warning,” a top US general in the Middle East warned earlier this month, according to Reuters.
Analysts note that the group has been critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin in recent years.
According to Colin Clarke of the Soufan Center, a Washington-based research organization, “ISIS-K has been fixated on Russia for the past two years, frequently criticizing Putin in its propaganda,” as stated by Reuters.
Furthermore, according to Michael Kugelman of the Wilson Center in Washington, ISIS-K “sees Russia as being complicit in activities that regularly oppress Muslims.”
He continues by saying that several terrorists from Central Asia who have their own grudges against Moscow are also members of the group.
