What We Know about the Shooting at a Concert Venue Near Moscow

A Russian policeman guards near the burned Crocus City Hall concert venue following a terrorist attack in Krasnogorsk, outside Moscow, Russia, 23 March 2024. (EPA)
A Russian policeman guards near the burned Crocus City Hall concert venue following a terrorist attack in Krasnogorsk, outside Moscow, Russia, 23 March 2024. (EPA)
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What We Know about the Shooting at a Concert Venue Near Moscow

A Russian policeman guards near the burned Crocus City Hall concert venue following a terrorist attack in Krasnogorsk, outside Moscow, Russia, 23 March 2024. (EPA)
A Russian policeman guards near the burned Crocus City Hall concert venue following a terrorist attack in Krasnogorsk, outside Moscow, Russia, 23 March 2024. (EPA)

Armed men burst into the Crocus City Hall near Moscow on Friday, killing at least 93 people and injuring many dozens more in the deadliest attack in Russia since the 2004 Beslan school siege.

What do we know about the attack?

THE ATTACK

The men, armed with Kalashnikov automatic weapons, arrived at the Crocus City Hall at around 7:40 p.m. (1640 GMT) in a minivan. Russian media said there were up to five men.

Federal Security Service (FSB) Director Alexander Bortnikov informed President Vladimir Putin that there were four attackers, the Kremlin said.

They began shooting civilians at point-blank range. They shot people through the glass doors near the entrance turnstiles to the venue, witnesses said, then moved on towards the concert hall itself.

Videos showed the men shooting screaming civilians with automatic weapons. Bodies were then seen motionless.

As people took their seats for a concert by Soviet-era rock group "Picnic", shooting could be heard inside the 6,200-seat hall where all the tickets had been sold out. The group had been planning to perform their new hit "Afraid of Nothing."

The attackers were shown on videos from the scene methodically shooting at concertgoers as people rushed for the exits.

The men then set fire to the concert hall, pouring a liquid on the curtains and chairs before igniting it.

Reuters video showed flames leaping above the hall and plumes of black smoke billowing into the sky as the blue lights of hundreds of emergency vehicles flashed across the night.

The fire, which spread across nearly 13,000 square meters took hours to contain. The roof collapsed.

DEATH TOLL

Russia's investigative committee said on Saturday the death toll was 93.

Some sources said 145 people were injured. The Moscow Region said 121 people had been wounded. Earlier it had said 60 of the injured were in a critical condition.

RESPONSIBILITY

ISIS, the militant group that once sought control over swathes of Iraq and Syria, claimed responsibility for the attack, the group's Amaq agency said on Telegram.

"ISIS fighters attacked a large gathering of Christians in the city of Krasnogorsk on the outskirts of the Russian capital, Moscow, killing and wounding hundreds and causing great destruction to the place before they withdrew to their bases safely," the statement said.

The United States has intelligence confirming ISIS’s claim of responsibility for a deadly shooting at a concert near Moscow, two US officials said on Friday.

The officials said the United States had warned Russia in recent weeks about the possibility of an attack - a move they said prompted the US embassy in Moscow to issue a warning to Americans.

Two weeks ago the US embassy in Russia warned that "extremists" had imminent plans for an attack in Moscow.

Hours before the embassy warning, the Federal Security Service (FSB) said it had foiled an attack on a Moscow synagogue by ISIS’s affiliate in Afghanistan, which is known as ISIS-Khorasan or ISIS-K and seeks a caliphate across Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Iran.

"We did warn the Russians appropriately," one of the US officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

THE ATTACKERS

Russian media said there were five men. Reuters was unable to confirm just how many there were.

Russian investigators showed pictures from inside the hall showing an automatic weapon, vests with multiple spare magazines and bags of spent bullet casings that had been collected from the scene.

A grainy picture was published by some Russian media of two of the alleged attackers in a white car.

The FSB said 11 people had been detained, including all four of the attackers.

Russian lawmaker Alexander Khinshtein, a former journalist, said that the white Renault used by the suspects was found in a village in the Bryansk region, about 340 km (210 miles) southwest of Moscow.

"One terrorist was detained on the spot, the rest fled into the forest," Khinshtein said.

He said a pistol, a Kalashnikov magazine and passports of Tajik citizens were found in the car. Reuters was unable to verify that information.



Ex-Philippine President to Face Trial on Crimes Against Humanity Charges

FILE - In this Oct. 26, 2016 file photo, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte delivers a speech at the Philippine Economic Forum in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
FILE - In this Oct. 26, 2016 file photo, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte delivers a speech at the Philippine Economic Forum in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
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Ex-Philippine President to Face Trial on Crimes Against Humanity Charges

FILE - In this Oct. 26, 2016 file photo, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte delivers a speech at the Philippine Economic Forum in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
FILE - In this Oct. 26, 2016 file photo, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte delivers a speech at the Philippine Economic Forum in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

Judges at the International Criminal Court on Thursday confirmed crimes against humanity charges against former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte for deadly anti-drugs crackdowns he allegedly oversaw while in office.

A three-judge panel found unanimously there were “substantial grounds” to believe the ex-leader was responsible for dozens of murders, first as mayor of the southern Philippine city of Davao and later as president.

Duterte, 80, was arrested in the Philippines last year and denies the charges against him.

In their 50-page decision, judges found that the evidence shows that Duterte “developed, disseminated and implemented” a policy “to ‘neutralize’ alleged criminals,” The Associated Press reported.

According to prosecutors, police and hit squad members carried out dozens of murders at Duterte’s behest, motivated by the promise of money or to avoid becoming targets themselves.

“For some, killing reached the level of a perverse form of competition,” deputy prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang told the court in pretrial hearings in February.

A date for the start of the trial has not yet been set.

Duterte's lead defense lawyer Nick Kaufman told judges during the February hearings that he “stands behind his legacy resolutely, and he maintains his innocence absolutely."

Kaufman argued that the prosecution “cherry-picked” examples of Duterte's “bombastic rhetoric,” and his client’s words were never intended to incite violence.

Estimates of the death toll during Duterte’s presidential term vary, from the more than 6,000 that the national police have reported to up to 30,000 claimed by human rights groups.

Duterte has not been present in the courtroom for any hearings, having waived his right to appear. Last month judges found he was fit to stand trial, after postponing an earlier hearing over concerns about his health.

ICC prosecutors said in 2018 that they would open a preliminary investigation into the violent drug crackdowns. In a move that human rights activists say was aimed at avoiding accountability, Duterte, who was president at the time, announced a month later that the Philippines would leave the court.

On Wednesday, appeals judges rejected a request from Duterte’s legal team to throw out the case on the grounds that the court did not have jurisdiction because of the Philippine withdrawal.


Denmark: Train Collision Leaves 17 Injured, 5 Are in Critical Condition

Damages at the accident scene after two trains collided between Hillerod and Kagerup at Isteroedvejen, Denmark, 23 April 2026. EPA/STEVEN KNAP
Damages at the accident scene after two trains collided between Hillerod and Kagerup at Isteroedvejen, Denmark, 23 April 2026. EPA/STEVEN KNAP
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Denmark: Train Collision Leaves 17 Injured, 5 Are in Critical Condition

Damages at the accident scene after two trains collided between Hillerod and Kagerup at Isteroedvejen, Denmark, 23 April 2026. EPA/STEVEN KNAP
Damages at the accident scene after two trains collided between Hillerod and Kagerup at Isteroedvejen, Denmark, 23 April 2026. EPA/STEVEN KNAP

Two commuter trains collided head-on near the Danish capital on Thursday injuring 17, of whom five were in critical condition, emergency services said.

"We can't provide any details for now about the cause of the accident," police official Morten Kaare Pedersen told reporters.

He said police were alerted to the accident at 6:29 am (0429 GMT), which occurred about 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Copenhagen between the towns of Hillerod and Kagerup.

Officials originally said four people were critically injured but revised that figure hours after the crash. It was not immediately clear whether the train's drivers were among the victims.

Investigators are looking into what caused the collision. Photos from the scene show the front ends of the trains smashed, though both remained upright on the tracks.

The mayor of the nearby town of Gribskov, Trine Egetved, in a post on Facebook, said some of the injured were flown to the hospital.

She said the crash occurred on a local rail line that's used by many Gribskov residents, employees and schoolchildren.


Report: Clearing Hormuz Strait Mines Could Take 6 Months

Ships and boats in the Strait of Hormuz, Musandam, Oman, April 22, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
Ships and boats in the Strait of Hormuz, Musandam, Oman, April 22, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
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Report: Clearing Hormuz Strait Mines Could Take 6 Months

Ships and boats in the Strait of Hormuz, Musandam, Oman, April 22, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
Ships and boats in the Strait of Hormuz, Musandam, Oman, April 22, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer

A Pentagon assessment said it could take six months to completely clear the Strait of Hormuz of Iranian-laid mines, which could keep oil prices high, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday.

Iran has all but blocked the vital waterway since the start of a war with the United States and Israel, sharply driving up oil and gas prices and disrupting the global economy.

The strait -- through which one-fifth of the world's oil and gas passes in peacetime -- has remained largely closed during a shaky ceasefire, with the US imposing its own blockade.

Even if hostilities end and the blockade lifts, it could take months to clear the waterway of mines, according to a Pentagon assessment, the Washington Post reported citing officials close to the discussion.

The assessment added that it was unlikely such an operation would begin before the end of the war.

The six-month estimate was shared with members of the House Armed Services Committee during a classified briefing, the Post reported.

Lawmakers were told that Iran may have placed 20 or more mines in and around the strait, some floated remotely using GPS technology which makes them harder to detect, according to the report.

AFP has contacted the Department of Defense for comment.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told the Washington Post that its information was "inaccurate."

Iran's Revolutionary Guards have warned of a "danger zone" covering 1,400 square kilometers -- 14 times the size of Paris -- where mines may be present.

Iran's parliament speaker said his country would not reopen the strait as long as the US naval blockade remained.

A spokesman for German transportation giant Hapag-Lloyd cautioned last week that shippers needed details on viable routes as they remain fearful of mines.

When the Hormuz strait briefly reopened at the start of the ceasefire this month, only a few ships trickled through amid fears of attacks or mines.

Earlier in April, the US Navy said its ships transited the waterway to begin removing the mines, but that claim was denied by Iran's Revolutionary Guard, which threatened any military vessels attempting to cross the channel.

London hosted talks with military planners from over 30 countries starting Wednesday on a UK and France-led multinational mission to protect navigation in the Strait of Hormuz once hostilities end.

The "defensive" coalition is set to discuss plans to reopen the strait and conduct mine clearance operations.