'India Condemns Terrorist Attack in Moscow': PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that India stands in solidarity with the Russian government and its people in this hour of grief.

New Delhi:Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the recent terrorist attack in a concert hall located in Moscow and expressed solidarity with the Russian government and its citizens in this hour of grief.

The post read, "We strongly condemn the heinous terrorist attack in Moscow. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims. India stands in solidarity with the government and the people of the Russian Federation in this hour of grief."

On Friday, several assailants burst into a large concert hall in Moscow and sprayed the crowd with gunfire, following which approximately 60 individuals were killed and more than 100 were injured, just days after President Vladimir Putin cemented his grip on power in a highly orchestrated electoral landslide.

The Islamic State group cited responsibility for the attack in a statement posted by ISIS-affiliated news agency Amaq on Telegram on Friday, which couldn't be independently verified.

The attack, which left the concert hall in flames with a collapsing roof, was the deadliest in Russia in years and came as the country's war in Ukraine dragged into a third year. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin called the raid a huge tragedy.

The Kremlin said Putin was informed minutes after the assailants burst into Crocus City Hall, a large music venue on Moscow's western edge that can accommodate 6,200 people.

Video footage from the site of the attack showed the Crocus City Hall concert venue on fire, with thick, black smoke filling the air. It also showed scared locals huddling, screaming and ducking behind cushioned seats as gunshots rang out in the hall.

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