Vladimir Putin has scrambled to save face by casting fresh doubt on ISIS claiming responsibility for the Moscow concert massacre that killed nearly 140 people, the deadliest attack on the nation's soil in years.
Two of the four ISIS terrorists who were charged overnight with terrorism have pleaded guilty, after they were caught, allegedly tortured and detained by Russian security services following the deadly attack at a Moscow concert hall on Friday night. One of the terrorists was seen staking out the venue just a few days before the attack. ISIS twice claimed responsibility for the attack over the weekend, first posting a selfie taken by the four men, all of whom are Russian citizens, in front of an ISIS flag before posting a 90-second selfie video of the devastating attack from the terrorists' perspective. President Vladimir Putin has not publicly mentioned the Islamist militant group in connection with the attackers, who he said had been trying to escape to Ukraine. Putin said some people on 'the Ukrainian side' had been prepared to spirit the gunmen across the border. Ukraine has denied any role in the attack and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has accused Putin of seeking to divert blame for the concert hall attack by referring to Ukraine. Zakharova's article came as footage of Russian forces torturing the men they arrested over the Moscow terror attack emerged, with one man given electric shocks to his genitals and a second forced to eat his own ear. One image shows a suspect named as Shamsuddin Fariddun foaming at the mouth as he lies on a gym floor with his trousers pulled down and wires attached to his groin area. At the other end they are attached to a military radio powered by an 80-volt battery. Separate video sees another man, Saidakrami Murodali Rachabalizoda, having his ear severed and then spitting it out as he is forced to eat it. |