Iran alerted Russia of major 'terrorist operation' on its soil before Moscow concert hall attack: Report
Iran alerted Russia about a potential significant "terrorist operation" on its territory prior to the concert hall massacre near Moscow last month, according to a Reuters report quoting three sources familiar with the matter.
FollowIran alerted Russia about a potential significant "terrorist operation" on its territory prior to the concert hall massacre near Moscow last month, according to a Reuters report quoting three sources familiar with the matter.
On March 22, gunmen unleashed a deadly assault on concertgoers at the Crocus City Hall, using automatic weapons and claiming the lives of at least 144 individuals in the deadliest attack within Russia in two decades.
The Islamic State militant group asserted responsibility for the violence. Despite a warning from the United States regarding a probable militant Islamist attack, Moscow, harboring deep distrust towards Washington's intentions, downplayed this intelligence.
However, Russia faces a greater challenge in disregarding intelligence from its diplomatic ally Iran regarding the attack, which has also prompted concerns about the efficacy of Russian security services. Despite both Moscow and Tehran being subject to Western sanctions, their collaboration, particularly in military spheres, has intensified during the two-year conflict in Ukraine.
"Days before the attack in Russia, Tehran shared information with Moscow about a possible big terrorist attack inside Russia that was acquired during interrogations of those arrested in connection with deadly bombings in Iran," one of the sources was quoted as saying in the report.
Islamic State's Afghanistan-based branch ISIS-K, also known as ISIS-Khorasan, claimed responsibility for the twin bombings in Kerman, Iran on January 3, which killed nearly 100 people.
The Iranian authorities arrested 35 individuals in January, including a commander linked to ISIS-K, in connection with these attacks. The report further said that US intelligence sources indicated that ISIS-K was responsible for both the January attacks in Iran and the March shootings in Moscow.
Formerly controlling sizable portions of both Iraq and Syria, Islamic State instilled fear and served as an inspiration for lone-wolf attacks in Western nations before being deemed to have lost all of its territory in 2017. However, massive bloodshed by one of its most dangerous factions, ISIS-K, has brought the group back into the public eye.
Known by an old word for an area that included portions of Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, and Iran, ISIS-K first appeared in eastern Afghanistan in late 2014 and gained a reputation for severe cruelty very fast.
Another undisclosed source told Reuters that the information shared by Tehran with Moscow concerning an imminent attack lacked precise details regarding the timing and the specific target.
"They (the members of ISIS-K) were instructed to prepare for a significant operation in Russia... One of the terrorists (arrested in Iran) said some members of the group had already travelled to Russia," the second source told the news agency.
A third source, a senior security official, told Reuters, "As Iran has been a victim of terror attacks for years, Iranian authorities fulfilled their obligation to alert Moscow based on information acquired from those arrested terrorists."
The basis for the US intelligence on an imminent attack in Russia, according to a source familiar with the plans, was intercepts of "chatter" among militants affiliated with ISIS-K.
Russia has refuted the claims made by the United States and stated, without supplying any proof, that it thinks Ukraine was involved in the attack. Kyiv has categorically refuted the claim.
