Taliban Opposition: Moscow Attack Signals Systematic Spreading of Terrorism to Central Asia

At least 115 people were killed and dozens injured in a bomb attack at a concert hall in a Moscow suburb yesterday. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) reported the casualty figures, which may rise.

According to the Kremlin statement, the head of the Federal Security Service has informed President Putin that 11 individuals have been detained in connection with the attack including 4 directly involved. It is said that they were identified as Tajik nationals and were arrested while trying to escape from their vehicle stopped during a police check.

The Islamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility for the bombing, asserting the attackers successfully escaped.

Ukraine has vehemently denied any involvement in the attack. Russia, however, alleges the attackers had contacts in Ukraine and planned to cross the border. Ukraine has dismissed this claim as “absurd.”

The international community has united in condemning the terrorist attack. US officials revealed they had previously warned Russia of a potential attack earlier this month and believe ISIS is likely responsible.

The Taliban in Afghanistan echoed the condemnation, stating that ISIS targets civilians across Afghanistan and other parts of the world.

However, the opposition figures of the Taliban claimed the Moscow attack mirrored past Taliban attacks in Afghanistan. Former Afghan Vice President Amrullah Saleh wrote on his X account that the Moscow attack is a “copy-paste” version of terroristic attacks that the “Taliban did in our cities during the past two decades”.

National Resistance Front of Afghanistan has also condemned the attack, stating “The terrorism is systematically transited to Central Asia and Russian Federation.”