Forty dead, more than 100 wounded left in terrorist attack at concert hall near Moscow

Moscow, SANA- There are 40 dead and more than 100 injured people among visitors and employees of the Crocus City Hall in Moscow after an explosion and gunfire opened by unidentified assailants.

Russia’s Federal Security Service announced that 40 dead and more than 100 injured, the initial toll of the terrorist attack that targeted the mall .

Aircraft were sent to the Crocus City Hall building to extinguish the fire, TASS cited the Main Department of the Emergencies Ministry for the Moscow Region as saying.

Russian security forces announced the establishment of an operational headquarter at the site of the attack and directed special forces to deal with the security situation in the complex.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called on the international community to condemn this “monstrous crime”.

“It has been preliminarily established that there are dead and wounded people as a result of a blast and automatic gunfire at the Crocus City Hall,” TASS quoted an eyewitness as saying.

According to the man, unidentified gunmen armed with assault rifles went on a shooting spree in the lobby and then inside the concert hall just before a concert by the rock band Picnic.