ISIS-K Shares Selfie of Attackers Allegedly Involved in Moscow Terror Attack

Moscow – A day after a devastating terror attack in Moscow led to death of at least 133 people, Islamic State published a photograph of four attackers who were allegedly involved in attack. According to Telegraph, terror group stated that se attackers “dealt a strong blow to Russia with a bloody attack” and mentioned how group planned and conducted assault in Russian capital. picture was released by Islamic State’s official news agency Amaq in which four men were seen wearing black baseball caps and face scarfs.

four men were also seen pointing towards sky with one finger, a gesture that has become associated with Islamic State and refers to Muslim belief that re is only one god. In background of photograph, re is a poster of ISIS with group's name written in black and white. In statement, group claimed that men carried out an “ intensive monitoring operation” before attack. group also stated that four men were armed with machine guns, knives and bombs and mentioned that main aim of attack was to ”inflict as much damage as possible on large crowd of Christians”.

After it was announced that four suspects were arrested following attack, Russian media mentioned that attack suspects were from Tajikistan where ISIS has an active presence. United States eventually specified that attackers belonged to Islamic State-Khorasan or ISIS-K. ISIS-K is an offshoot branch of terror group which is active in countries like  Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran.

What is ISIS-K? 

group is named after erstwhile Khorasan region that included parts of Iran, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. According to Telegraph, group was born in eastern Afghanistan in late 2014 and quickly established a reputation for extreme brutality. In its initial days, group h wide-ranging priorities, including toppling Pakistani government, punishing Iranian government for supporting Shia Muslim world, and to “purify” Afghanistan, including by pushing out Taliban as main jihi movement. However, group has seen its membership declining since 2018, with Taliban and US forces inflicting heavy losses. 

Why did ISIS-K attack Russia? 

In past, group has blamed Russia for killing Muslims after Moscow's interventions in Afghanistan, Syria and Chechnya. Some experts believe that group has particular issues with Putin ministration as well. “ISIS-K has been fixated on Russia for past two years,” frequently criticising President Vlimir Putin in its propaganda," said Colin P. Clarke, a counterterrorism analyst at Soufan Group, a security consulting firm based in New York. “ISIS-K accuses Kremlin of having Muslim blood in its hands, referencing Moscow’s interventions in Afghanistan, Chechnya and Syria," Clarke ded.