On Friday, Islamic State claimed responsibility for the massacre at a concert hall near Moscow, considered one of the deadliest attacks in Russia in a long time, and U.S. officials confirmed the claims shortly thereafter.
According to officials, the United States collected intelligence in March that the Islamic State-Khorasan, often known as ISIS-K, an affiliate of the group based in Afghanistan, was planning an attack on Moscow. One U.S. official said ISIS members are lively in Russia.
After a period of relative calm, the Islamic State is attempting to step up its external attacks, in response to U.S. counterterrorism officials. Most of those plots in Europe were foiled, resulting in the assessment that the group had limited capabilities.
“ISIS-K has been focused on Russia for the last two years,” a frequent critic of President Vladimir V. Putin in his propaganda, said Colin P. Clarke, a counterterrorism analyst at Soufan Group, a New York-based security consulting firm. . “ISIS-K accuses the Kremlin of having Muslim blood on its hands, citing Moscow’s interventions in Afghanistan, Chechnya and Syria.”
Friday’s attack in Moscow, just like the January attack in Iran claimed by the group, could prompt a reassessment of its ability to strike beyond its own territory.
In addition to the general public warning issued on March 7 a couple of possible attack, U.S. officials said that they had privately provided Russian officials with intelligence indicating an imminent attack. It is unclear how much information the United States has provided to Russian officials beyond what was included in the general public warning.
US intelligence agencies have a “duty to warn” potential targets of dangers once they turn into aware of them.
The United States warned Iran of a possible attack ahead of dual bombings in January that killed dozens and injured lots of during a memorial service for Iran’s former top general, Qassim Suleimani, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike 4 years earlier.
Western intelligence agencies have collected details about ISIS-K possibly planning to bomb this service. As in Russia, ISIS claimed responsibility for this attack.
