Suspects appear in court accused of Moscow attack that left 137 dead

Islamic State issues new video of massacre at concert hall on Friday

- Andrew Roth Pjotr Sauer

Two suspects appeared in court in Moscow yesterday charged over the terrorist attack on the Crocus City concert hall on Friday that left 137 people dead.

The men, identified as Saidakrami Murodali Rachabalizoda and Dalerdzhon Barotovich Mirzoyev, face charges of a “terror attack committed by a group of individuals resulting in a person’s death”, according to the TASS news agency.

The court released a video showing police officers bringing one of the suspects into the courtroom in handcuff s, as well as photographs of the same man sitting in a glass cage for defendants. Authorities said the suspects were foreign nationals.

Earlier yesterday Islamic State had released new footage of the attack, corroborating the terror group’s claim to have masterminded the slaughter even as Russia has sought to place the blame on Ukraine , which Kyiv denies.

The incident near Moscow is the deadliest IS-claimed assault on European soil and the deadliest attack by any group in Russia since the 2004 Beslan siege .

The footage, published by IS’s news agency Amaq , showed gunmen filming themselves as they hunted victims in the lobby of the hall and fi red from point-blank range, killing scores of people. At one point, one gunmen tells another to “kill them and have no mercy ”.

Vladimir Putin said 11 people had been detained, including the four gunmen . Russia’s investigative committee released a video earlier yesterday showing the suspects being led, blindfolded, into its headquarters .

Russia observed a nationwide day of mourning yesterday as the official number of wounded rose to 154.

Russia’s authorities have said they expect the death toll to rise, with at least a dozen victims critical hurt.