Today, a large-scale terrorist attack took place in the Moscow area. Despite predictable conspiracy theories claiming that the attack was a false-flag operation by the Russian government in order to rally support for Russia’s war in Ukraine, the nature of the attack captured on footage and the U.S. intelligence community’s own warnings earlier this month about threats of an imminent attack by ‘extremists’ in Russia point to the Islamic State’s responsibility.
As should always be standard procedure, it is best to wait in the aftermath of such an incident to see if the Islamic State issues some official kind of claim. Sure enough, it has done so, initially via its Amaq News agency (there will be other material from the group to follow, which I will post when it emerges).
The Amaq News claim (translation by author): “Security source to Amaq Agency: Islamic State fighters attacked a large gathering of Christians in the city of ‘Krasnogorsk’ in the suburbs of Russia’s capital Moscow, and they killed and wounded hundreds and inflicted great damage on the place before safely withdrawing to their bases.”
It is notable to see how the attack is framed: namely, it is portrayed as an attack targeting Christians. Of course, this framing is in keeping with how Islamic State views all Christians worldwide in terms of a three-way choice: convert to Islam, become dhimmis and pay a poll-tax and live as second-class citizens under the Islamic State’s authority, or die.
As was the case with the Turkey attacks earlier this year, one should not read some sophisticated geopolitical strategy into this operation that has resulted in mass killing and destruction in Russia. It is simply a case of Islamic State operatives and cells striking wherever they can as part of a global ‘fight the infidels and apostates everywhere’ approach underscored by the Islamic State’s spokesman Abu Hudhayfa al-Ansari in a speech released just after the Iran bombings.
