"Shaking Terrorists? Different from Traditional Terrorists"

The Islamic State (IS), a Sunni extremist militant group, has a faction called 'IS-K' (Khorasan), which claimed responsibility for the shooting and arson attack at a concert hall in Moscow, the capital of Russia. However, experts pointed out that "it is difficult to definitively say that Khorasan was behind it."

On the 25th, Professor Park Hyun-do of Sogang University's Euromena Research Institute appeared on SBS Radio's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show' and said, "There was footage of the captured suspect trembling during an interview," adding, "This is quite different from the usual IS terrorists." He continued, "Looking at the full released video, the brutality is very similar to what is known about IS members, but why it happened at this particular time, and whether IS really did it, requires more time to observe."

On the afternoon of the 24th, one day after the indiscriminate shooting and arson attack at a concert hall in Moscow, Russia, members of Voices In Korea, an anti-war group of Russian residents in Korea, held placards mourning the victims of the terror attack at the fountain in Jeong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

On the 22nd (local time), a large concert hall building on the outskirts of downtown Moscow was attacked with indiscriminate shooting and arson. According to an investigative committee formed by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) including investigators, 137 people were killed and more than 180 were injured in the attack. IS claimed responsibility for the attack, but Russia has not commented on this and instead raised suspicions that Ukraine was involved. They argue that key suspects tried to flee to Ukraine, suggesting that Ukraine provided an escape route and is behind the attack.

On the other hand, Ukraine's Defense Ministry Intelligence Directorate (HUR) claimed that "the Moscow attack was a planned and deliberate provocation by Russian special forces under Putin's orders," asserting suspicions of a 'Russian false flag operation.'

Regarding this, Professor Park analyzed, "The scale of the incident is too large to be a false flag operation. It does not seem like a provocation by Russia." While saying "we need to watch whether Ukraine is behind it," he added, "Before the attack, the U.S. reportedly warned Russia twice about a possible terrorist attack, and Russia seems to be somewhat suspicious about that." He continued, "In places like Iraq, there have been ongoing claims that the U.S. is protecting IS, and Russia also suspects that Western intelligence agencies are involved behind the scenes orchestrating this."

However, given the long-standing enmity between Khorasan and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the possibility that Khorasan's claim of responsibility is true cannot be ruled out. Professor Park explained, "IS fought against the Syrian government supported by Russia in the Syrian region, and IS-Khorasan hates Russia," adding, "For the past two years, they have strongly criticized Russia, especially President Putin, because Russia has been mistreating and killing Muslims within Russia. They have persistently spoken about this for two years."