U.S. Warned Russia Of Possible ISIS Attack in Moscow - State Dept

The United States said on Monday that it had warned Russia early this month about a planned terrorist attack in Moscow “potentially targeting large gatherings, including concerts," as the State Department's spokesperson Matthew Miller put it.

Washington had passed on to the Russian side detailed information about a potential attack based on intelligence and surveillance data on ISIS-K — the terrorist group responsible for the assault on the concert hall in Moscow on Friday.

During his daily briefing on Monday, Miller responded to TURAN's questions on a denial by the Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Anatoly Antonov that Moscow received any warning.

"We gave them that private warning consistent with our duty to warn that we have when we see – or when we gather intelligence of terrorist attacks or potential terrorist attacks," Miller said.

The U.S. Embassy to Moscow on March 7 warned its citizens to avoid large gatherings in the city

In their turn, Russian leaders, including Vladimir Putin himself, had described the security warning as “provocative” and “outright blackmail” before the attack.

According to U.S. officials, over the last several years, the ISIS-K group has primarily focused its operations in places where it has a deep bench – countries such as Iran.

"You might recall that several months ago, we warned the Government of Iran about a potential terrorist attack by ISIS-K in Iran, one that ultimately, quite tragically, also came to be true," Miller reminded.

The spokesperson did not, however, speak to the specific channels through which Washington  communicated with the Russians.

At least 137 people were killed in Moscow on Friday when gunmen struck the Crocus City Hall. The Kremlin on Monday blamed the deadliest attack on Islamist militants, while Vladimir Putin also tried to pin responsibility on Ukraine.

"There was no Ukrainian involvement – period," Miller told TURAN's correspondent.

"You’ve seen the Ukrainian Government make that clear...  And of course, with respect to these statements the Russians have offered zero evidence, because there is no evidence of Ukrainian involvement," he concluded.