ALMATY, Kazakhstan – Central Asian countries have denounced the attack on a Moscow concert hall that killed more than 60 people, with Kazakhstan offering the help of its law enforcement agencies to Russia if needed. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the mass shooting on Friday night.
“Kazakhstan strongly condemns the terrorist act against civilians in Moscow,” Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said in a statement. He expressed condolences in a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin and urged United Nations member states to unanimously condemn the attack.
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev also sent condolencesto relatives of the dead and wishes for the quick recovery of the injured. More than 140 people were injured, according to Russian authorities. Video recorded by witnesses showed several gunmen roaming the concert hall, opening fire on civilians. A large blaze also broke out at the building during the attack.
Uzbekistan “firmly condemns this act of terrorism directed against civilians, and the organizers and executors of this crime will be assured of the inevitability of punishment,” the president’s press service said.
The claim of responsibility could not be immediately confirmed, and it was unclear whether there was a link to Islamic State extremists in Afghanistan.
On Feb. 27, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu spoke of threats coming from extremists in Afghanistan and prioritized “ensuring military security in the Central Asian strategic area.”
Shoigu said the number of Islamic State militants in Afghanistan had increased by 15% in the past year. He said their key objectives were to spread radical ideology and to conduct subversive activities on the southern borders of the Collective Security Treaty Organization.
The organization, CSTO, is a Russian-led security alliance that includes Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.
Image above credit: Reuters
