Moscow Attacks Revive Old Fears About Islamic State’s Violence
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- US warning dismissed by Putin shows deep breakdown in trust
A law enforcement officer patrols the scene of the gun attack at the Crocus City Hall concert hall in Krasnogorsk, Russia on March 23.
Photographer: AFP/Getty ImagesWestern publics may have assumed that Islamic State was yesterday’s problem after the US and its allies smashed the group’s attempt to establish a caliphate in parts of Iraq and Syria. Now, the violently Islamist organization looks to be mutating into a pernicious new threat.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for Friday’s assault on a concert hall in Moscow that killed at least 137 people, the deadliest attack in the Russian capital since 2002. Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed a public warning issued by US officials who pointed to a branch known as ISIS-K, and he instead sought to divert public attention toward Kyiv.