My heart goes out to the victims of the terrorist act in Russia and their families.
— Andrei V Kozyrev (@andreivkozyrev) March 22, 2024
Putin's police state is best able to silence the opposition.
Once again, beware those in Israel, America, and elsewhere who expect a strong man to guarantee security.
Situation reminds me of Khasham 2018. The US asked the Russian deconfliction officers again and again if they had personnel present. They denied and >100 Wagner were killed. Some of their leaders would rather their own people die than admit the US was right. Old pattern.
— Henry Schlottman (@HN_Schlottman) March 22, 2024
Just 3 days ago, Putin called warnings of terror attacks "Western blackmail".
— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated) March 22, 2024
In any normal country, such a statement followed by an actual attack resulting in hundreds of victims would have led to an immediate resignation and criminal investigation for failing to carry out the… pic.twitter.com/CcmGxlVVJe
IS has been implicated in some of Russia's largest recent terror attacks, including the 2017 bombing in the St Petersburg metro that killed 15 and injured 45.
The group, which is a branch of IS mainly based in Afghanistan, has increasingly focused its attention on Russia since the United States left Afghanistan in 2021. The group was formed in 2015 by members of militant groups, including those from Pakistan and Uzbekistan, and is active in central Asia and Russia. It carried out twin bombings in January in Iran that killed nearly 100 people.
"Isis-K and its allies retain a safe haven in Afghanistan, and they continue to develop their networks in and out of the country," said Gen Michael Kurilla, the commander of US Central Command, during testimony to the House armed services committee in early March.
"Their goals do not stop there. They have called for attacks globally on anyone not aligned with their extremist ideology, and Taliban efforts to suppress the group have proven insufficient."
The attack in Iran demonstrated the group's "resiliency and indicates that they retain the capability and will to conduct spectacular external operations".
