ISIS claims responsibility for deadly Russian concert hall attack

ISIS has claimed responsibility for an attack at a large concert hall in the Moscow area that left at least 40 people dead and more than 100 injured on Friday. 

The attack happened as concertgoers were gathering to hear the Russian band Picnic. 

Russian Rosguardia (National Guard) servicemen leave a bus near the burning building of the Crocus City Hall on the western edge of Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 22, 2024. Several gunmen have burst into a big concert hall in Moscow and fired automatic weapons at the crowd, injuring an unspecified number of people and setting a massive blaze in an apparent terror attack days after President Vladimir Putin cemented his grip on the country in a highly orchestrated electoral landslide. (Sergei Vedyashkin/Moscow News Agency via AP)

Gunmen opened fire inside the building and dropped explosives that set it on fire, according to Russian media. 

Russia’s Investigative Committee said it has opened a criminal probe into the attack but hasn’t said who might be behind it. 

Russian Culture Ministry has canceled all mass and entertainment events in the coming days in the area. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.