Bloodshed in Kremlin
There is surely some serious retribution round the corner as Muscovites have been made to bleed. The daredevil ambush on Crocus City Hall near the Kremlin by the Islamic State-Khorasan terrorists, killing around 100 people, has come as a security dilemma for Russia. Happening just days after the presidential vote that saw Vladimir Putin consolidate his grip on power, the terror act simply comes as a reminder that non-state actors and abettors are out to create chaos, and Moscow is no exception in their scheme of things. While some have been arrested while fleeing after the shooting rampage, one can bet that Russian authorities will soon dig deep into the conspiracy and astutely separate the wheat from the chaff.
Friday’s terrorism is a déjà vu and has brought to the fore the 2004 Beslan school siege, one of the deadliest in recent history at the hands of terrorists. This attack is in need of being minutely scrutinised to ascertain as to why the IS-K chose a concert event, and that too in the heartland of the capital. Likewise, how come so many gunmen managed to enter the high-security zone, and some managed to get away too. This is a serious security lapse, and local authorities must take immediate responsibility before furthering the mosaic of the probe to identify trans-regional dreaded elements.
The plot thickens as the United States had earlier warned Russian authorities of a plausible terror attack, and had surprisingly named the susceptibility of Islamic State’s involvement too. If so, it is quite embarrassing that two major powers’ intelligence sleuths could not preempt the attack from taking place, and the terror group had the last laugh. This calls for greater counter-terrorism understanding not only between the US and Russia, but also to foment an umbrella of inputs from regional entities for securing all and sundry.
Terror outfits are a reality, and must be dealt with sternly. It must also dawn on all that Afghanistan is once again slipping into anarchy, and with dreaded cells making inroads in society, none of the countries are free from catastrophes.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 24th, 2024.
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