Gunmen kill more than 60 in concert attack near Moscow; Islamic State claims responsibility

MOSCOW - At least 60 people were killed and 145 wounded on Friday when camouflage-clad gunmen fired with automatic weapons on concertgoers near Moscow in one of the deadliest attacks on Russia in decades.

Islamic State, the militant group that once sought control over swaths of Iraq and Syria, claimed responsibility for the attack, the group's Telegram channel said.

The United States has intelligence confirming Islamic State's claim of responsibility for the shooting, a U.S. official said on Friday. The official said Washington had warned Moscow in recent weeks of the possibility of an attack.

"We did warn the Russians appropriately," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, without providing any additional details.

Russia has yet to say who it thinks is responsible.

At least five gunmen began shooting civilians cowering in the Crocus City Hall just before Soviet-era rock group "Picnic" was about to perform to a full house at the 6,200-seat theater in a suburb west of Moscow.

Flames leapt into the sky and plumes of black smoke rose above the venue, Reuters pictures and video showed.

Russian media reported a second blast at the venue and there were reports that some of the gunmen had barricaded themselves somewhere in the building.

Children were reported to be among the dead and injured at the concert. Dozens of ambulances arrived at the Sklifosovsky emergency care institute in Moscow.

"Suddenly there were bangs behind us - shots. A burst of firing - I do not know what," one witness who asked not to be named told Reuters.

"A stampede began, everyone ran to the escalator," the witness said. "Everyone was screaming, everyone was running."

The shooting began days after President Vladimir Putin was re-elected for a new six-year term and as Russia is prosecuting a war with Ukraine.

State news agency TASS cited Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) as saying 40 people had been killed and more than 100 wounded.

The FSB said all necessary measures were being taken.

In a post on Telegram, Islamic State said its fighters attacked on the outskirts of Moscow "killing and wounding hundreds and causing great destruction to the place before they withdrew to their bases safely."

"A terrible tragedy occurred in the shopping center Crocus City today," Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said. "I am sorry for the loved ones of the victims."

Russia tightened security at airports and stations and across the capital - a vast urban area of over 21 million people. Putin has yet to comment in public.

Russia's foreign ministry said it was a "bloody terrorist attack."

"The entire world community is obliged to condemn this monstrous crime," Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. "All efforts are being thrown at saving people."

Shooting people

In one unverified video posted on social media, men with automatic weapons were shown firing repeatedly at screaming civilians, including women, who were cowering below what looked like an entrance sign to "Crocus City Hall."

Other video footage showed a number of people lying motionless in pools of blood outside the hall. Reuters was unable to immediately verify the footage.

Another video showed the attackers shooting at people in the concert hall.

The U.S., European and Arab powers and many former Soviet republics expressed shock, condemned the attack and sent their condolences. Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak denied any Ukrainian involvement.

"While events continue to unfold, we strongly recommend that U.S. citizens in Moscow avoid the area, follow the instructions of local security services and keep an eye on local media updates," the U.S. embassy said on Friday.

The White House said on Friday that images of shooting in the Russian capital were hard to watch.

"The images are just horrible and just hard to watch and our thoughts obviously are going to be with the victims of this terrible, terrible shooting attack," White House spokesman John Kirby said.

The U.S. embassy in Russia warned earlier this month that "extremists" had imminent plans for an attack in Moscow.

It issued its warning several hours after the FSB, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, said it had foiled an attack on a synagogue in Moscow by a cell of the militant Sunni Muslim group Islamic State.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Gunmen kill 60 people in attack near Moscow, state news agency says