Only a few days after President Vladimir Putin solidified his hold on power with a well scripted electoral landslide, attackers stormed into a sizable music hall in Moscow, dousing the audience with gunfire and leaving over 60 dead and over 100 injured. The attackers then set the venue on fire. The Islamic State organization released a message on social media sites that they controlled, claiming responsibility for the assault. The Associated Press was informed by a U.S. intelligence official that U.S. intelligence agencies had informed Russian officials that the group’s branch in Afghanistan was organizing an attack on Moscow.

Factors contributing to vulnerability

Since its founding in 2015, the organization has been implicated in several foreign assaults, the most notable of which being the attack on Kabul Airport in 2021, which took the lives of over 130 civilians and 13 Americans during the US troop pullout. What happened to the assailants following the raid, which state authorities were looking into as possible terrorism, was not immediately apparent. The incident, which resulted in a collapsed roof and a burning music hall, was the bloodiest to strike Russia in recent memory and occurred as the nation’s conflict with Ukraine entered its third year. Sergei Sobyanin, the mayor of Moscow, described the raid as a “huge tragedy.” Shortly after the attackers broke into Crocus City Hall, a sizable concert hall on the western fringe of Moscow that can hold 6,200 people, Putin was notified.

Expert warning

The incident happened as large audiences were anticipating a concert by the Russian rock group Picnic. More than sixty individuals were slain, according to a report released early on Saturday by the state’s main criminal inquiry body, the Investigative Committee. A list of 145 injuries was made public by health officials; 115 of them, including five children, were hospitalized. 

The fire that broke out when the attackers tossed bombs may have trapped more people. The structure was on fire, and a thick plume of smoke was rising into the night sky. Dozens of firetrucks, ambulances, and other emergency vehicles were illuminating the roadway with their blinking blue lights, while fire helicopters hovered overhead, dropping water on the fire that took hours to put out. Although nations throughout the globe diverge on a wide range of issues, there was a near-unanimity over combating ISIS. The Islamic State was ultimately destroyed as a consequence of battling in turn against the US, Europe, Russia, Iran, and other countries. The fact that ISIS promoted its extreme image on social media and engaged in completely unfettered brutality made them seem like a pariah to the myriad rebel factions that inhabited Syria.

Mitigation efforts

After 9/11, the same thing occurred with al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda was founded in Afghanistan, and once the US entered the country, the organization spread throughout the country and established branches in places where it could prosper. The Islamic State has therefore spread throughout the Sahel, sections of Africa, and Mozambique; among these locations is Afghanistan, where it has managed to carve out a niche for itself and grow into a respectable organization. 

According to Russian media, several of the performance hall’s security personnel may have been slain at the outset of the attack because they lacked firearms. According to several Russian news sources, the attackers left before riot police and special forces could reach. According to reports, police patrols searched for a number of cars that the assailants would have used to get away.

Public awareness and preparedness

 U.S. intelligence officials have received evidence that the IS branch was preparing an assault in Moscow. He said that early this month, American authorities had discreetly given Russian officials access to the intelligence. The official talked to the AP under condition of anonymity despite having been briefed on the subject and not being permitted to publicly disclose the intelligence data. 

After the terrorist attack in Hamas on October 7, the danger level for terrorism was increased. In terms of the possibility of a terrorist strike, the United States is living in peril right now. Al-Qaeda responded to the Hamas attack in a different way than did ISIS; it publicly celebrated the attack right after it happened on October 7. 

Since then, it believes that government agencies have been keeping a closer eye on al-Qaeda because it has become more vocal and explicit about its desire to attack the United States and target American interests worldwide, particularly Jewish targets. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, Because of their disparate religious beliefs, the Islamic State saw itself as being more at conflict with Hamas. For instance, Hamas took part in and won the election in Gaza because it believes in the validity of elections. Nor does Hamas apply Sharia law. Furthermore, Iran backs Hamas, and ISIS is strongly anti-Shia.