Russia concert hall shooting: 40 dead; Islamic State claims responsibility

MOSCOW -

The attack took place as crowds gathered for a performance by the famous Russian rock band Picnic. As Russia's Federal Security Service reported 40 dead and over 100 injured, some Russian news reports suggested that more could have been trapped by the blaze that erupted after the assailants threw explosives. The Health Ministry released a list of 145 injured.

Repeated volleys of gunfire could be heard in videos posted by Russian media and on Telegram channels. One showed two men with rifles moving through the venue. Another showed a man inside the auditorium and saying the assailants had set it on fire, as gunshots rang out incessantly in the background. It was not clear why the group, which operates mainly in Syria and Iraq but also in Afghanistan and Africa, would stage an attack in Russia at this time. Over the years, the extremist group recruited fighters from the former Soviet Union who fought for the group in Syria and Iraq and claimed several attacks in Russia's volatile Caucasus and other regions in the past.

The Kremlin didn't immediately blame anyone for the attack, but some Russian lawmakers were quick to accuse Ukraine of being behind it and called for ramping up strikes. Hours before the attack, the Russian military l aunched a sweeping barrage on Ukraine's power system, crippling the country's biggest hydroelectric plant and other energy facilities and leaving more than a million people without electricity.

John Kirby, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said Friday that he couldn't yet speak about all the details but that “the images are just horrible. And just hard to watch.”

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