Putin says 'radical Islamists' behind Moscow concert hall attack

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin lights a candle during his visit to a church of the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence on March 24, 2024, following the attack in the Crocus City Hall claimed by the Islamic State group. © Mikhail Metzel, AFP

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that the gunmen who carried out the concert hall attack that killed over 130 people in a Moscow suburb last week were “radical Islamists.” 

Speaking in a meeting with government officials, Putin said the killings were carried out by extremists "whose ideology the Islamic world has been fighting for centuries.”