By Girish Linganna

Mar 25: The terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall just outside of Moscow on March 22 resulted in the deaths of at least 143 individuals, with expectations that the number of fatalities may rise.

Alexander Bortnikov, the Director of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), announced on Friday that 11 individuals have been detained for their alleged involvement in the terrorist act at the Crocus City Hall concert hall. This includes the arrest of all four persons who are believed to have played a direct role in the incident.

According to Alexander Bortnikov, the individuals were apprehended in the Bryansk region, an area adjacent to Ukraine.

Andrey Popov, a retired FSB colonel and member of the Alfa anti-terror group's Veterans Association, told Sputnik in an interview that the suspects' intention to cross the Russian-Ukrainian border indicates they had planned their escape routes through Ukraine.

The reserve FSB colonel further commented, dismissing the allegations made by the US-led West of ISIS'* involvement in the Crocus City Hall attack as baseless. He pointed out that the individuals, holding Tajik passports and heading towards Ukraine, suggest that the attack was orchestrated by the Kiev regime.

He further speculated that Washington might have played a role, either directly or indirectly, in orchestrating the lethal attack, asserting that the U.S. could have certainly provided financial support. He reasoned that "terrorism under the guise of Ukraine" would not have any financial backing other than from the United States and the United Kingdom.

He pointed out that unlike Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had expressed condolences for the 9/11 terrorist attacks in America, the United States had not offered any condolences to Russia following the attack on Crocus City Hall.

Popov commended the efforts of the FSB, indicating that the Federal Secret Service was vigilantly monitoring the terrorists from the moment of the incident at Crocus City Hall. This was to gather more details about their associates, communication methods, and their travel routes.Popov continued, explaining that once the FSB had fully gathered the necessary information, a decision was made to apprehend the terrorists. He noted that they were captured alive.

In a conversation with Sputnik, Sergey Poletaev, a military and political analyst, highlighted that the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has formally stated that the suspects in the attack had connections in Ukraine.

Poletaev mentioned that regardless of whether the attackers were indeed citizens of Tajikistan, the assault in Moscow might have been orchestrated by an Islamist terrorist group with Ukrainian links or possibly by Ukraine itself.

He further observed that it seems the Ukrainian authorities had advance awareness of the terrorist act, making them, at minimum, complicit.

Seyed Mohammad Marandi, a political analyst and professor at Tehran University, noted it was intriguing how the United States began to assert Ukraine's non-involvement in the attack even before "any substantial details" about the incident were available.

He further commented on the peculiarity of the United States issuing a detailed travel advisory prior to the attack, specifically warning about concerts and large gatherings in Moscow, suggesting a level of detail in their warnings. Yet, they failed to provide any specific information to the Russians. This discrepancy, he noted, raises serious concerns about the situation's integrity.

Marandi contended that the suggestion of ISIS being behind the attack doesn't exclude the possibility of "collaboration between Ukraine and ISIS or a potential involvement of the United States."

Marandi highlighted that the immediate disavowal by the United States of Ukraine's involvement, coupled with the detailed warning issued to American citizens, casts significant doubts. He pointed out that both ISIS and the Ukrainian government have established ties with Western entities. He noted ISIS's history of collaboration with NATO countries, Israel, and other allies of the United States in Syria over the years, as well as Ukraine's deep reliance on NATO nations, to underline the interconnected relationships.

Marandi highlighted that ISIS has predominantly targeted adversaries of the United States, with attacks against NATO countries or Middle Eastern allies of the West being exceptionally uncommon.

Currently, the number of fatalities from the Crocus City Hall incident is reported to be 143, and the Russian Investigative Committee has indicated that the death count from the massacre could increase further.

(The author Girish Linganna of this article is a Defence, Aerospace & Political Analyst based in Bengaluru. He is also Director of ADD Engineering Components, India, Pvt. Ltd, a subsidiary of ADD Engineering GmbH, Germany. You can reach out to him at: girishlinganna@gmail.com)