On Sunday, Russia will celebrate a day of national mourning after the massacre that took place in a concert hall in a Moscow suburb, in an attack that claimed the most lives in the country in nearly two decades and the deadliest in Europe and was claimed by the Islamic State.

But the authorities did not indicate the responsibility of this group, speaking instead of Ukrainian involvement.

“The entire country is in a state of mourning in solidarity with the people who lost their loved ones in this inhuman tragedy,” public television station Rossiya 24 reported on Sunday morning.

Scenes were broadcast of a huge digital billboard installed on the walls of the concert hall that was attacked, showing a candle on a black background and the phrase “Crocus City Hall.” “We are in mourning on 03/22/2024,” which is the date of the attack. Posters were hung in some bus stops in the city showing a candle on a black background accompanied by the phrase, “We are in mourning.”

Museums and theaters in Moscow announced the closure of their doors over the weekend, and cinemas in Moscow were closed on Saturday and Sunday, offering “condolences” to the families of the victims.

Restaurants in the capital promised to donate a portion of their profits starting Sunday to the relatives of the victims.

On Sunday, Russia did not provide any new information regarding the progress of the investigation.

It also did not mention that ISIS claimed responsibility for the operation, indicating that there was a link between Ukraine and the individuals who stormed Crocus City Hall on Friday evening, before they opened fire with machine guns on people who had come to attend a Picnic band concert, and started a fire with incendiary bombs, according to the statement. Investigators, resulting in the killing of at least 137 people, according to the latest toll by investigators on Sunday.

The four attackers who were arrested in the Bryansk region, located on the border with Ukraine and Belarus, are scheduled to appear before the judiciary in the coming hours.

In a televised speech on Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned the “barbaric terrorist act,” vowing to punish those responsible. He announced that “the four men were arrested while they were heading toward Ukraine,” without mentioning that ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.

This attack is the most fatal in nearly two decades and the deadliest in Europe, claimed by ISIS since the November 13, 2015 attacks in Paris.

Meanwhile, searches continue in the rubble of the building, which was destroyed by fire and whose roof partially collapsed, using heavy equipment, in a mission that may take days.

The Islamic State, which Russia is fighting in Syria and which is also active in the Caucasus, has carried out attacks on Russian territory since the end of 2010, but it has not claimed responsibility for any attack of this magnitude in the country.

The death toll from the attack that took place on Friday at the Crocus City Hall concert hall on the outskirts of Moscow has risen to 137 people, including three children, according to Russian investigators who announced that weapons and ammunition were found at the scene.

The investigation committee said in a statement, “The bodies of the victims are being identified.” Currently, the bodies of 137 people, including three children, have been found at the site of the terrorist attack. So far, 62 bodies have been identified, announcing that two assault rifles and a large amount of ammunition were found at the site of the attack.

(agencies)