Videos circulated online show three men, who Moscow claims were responsible for the attack at the Crocus City Hall on Friday, allegedly being arrested by a group of soldiers. One of the suspects is seen kneeling, trembling, with his hands tied behind his back, apparently admitting to carrying out the massacre, which claimed the lives of over 140 people.
He was allegedly caught on camera in the Bryansk region after being found hiding in a tree while attempting to escape to Ukraine. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the massacre, saying that it occurred "within the context of a raging war between the Islamic State and countries fighting Islam."
The Face of Terror
Among the several videos circulating online, one shows one of the suspects appearing to confess while kneeling with his hands tied behind his back. He is asked by a soldier, "Exactly what was offered?" to which he replies: "To do these things for money."
He is then asked: "Which things? What exactly?" He replies: "These things, to kill."
A soldier then asks: "To kill who?" He replies: "They sent the location [on the Telegram messenger]."
The man further said he was asked to enter the venue and eliminate anyone, regardless of their identity. He said that he had flown from Turkey on March 4 and had received directives from unidentified people via Telegram to carry out the attack in exchange for one million roubles [$10,000].
According to his account, he had been following a presumably Muslim 'preacher' on Telegram. He identified himself as Fariduni Shamsidin.
"I listened to lessons, studied on Telegram. The preacher's assistant suggested killing people, and promised me a million rubles," the attacker said.
He claimed that he did not know the name of the preacher or his assistant who had ordered the killings.
Another detained suspect said he had been promised 500,000 roubles ($5,000) for carrying out the attack and had received 250,000 roubles ($2,500) in an advance payment.
Tracking the Attackers
In a second video, one of the detainees, with his face seemingly covered in blood, is seen being carried along a path by men dressed in military gear. In another video, a third man is seen with his hands bound behind his back, seated barefoot on a blue bench.
The group heading towards Ukraine was reportedly intercepted by Chechen fighters loyal to Ramzan Kadyrov, a close ally of Putin and a prominent warlord.
Kadyrov said: "Chechen fighters arrived at the given coordinates to the place where they were searching for terrorists around 3am and immediately began combing the area together with the FSB [special forces] and soldiers of the Leningrad Military District.
"They successfully completed their task of capturing the killers alive, despite the risks."
Another suspect, Ruslan Nazarov, reportedly approached the police on his own, claiming to have been in Samara at the time of the terrorist attack. There are indications that he might have been a previous owner of the Renault.
In the Bryansk region, two helicopters and eight drones were reportedly deployed in the search for the fugitives, as per SHOT reports.
Earlier today, Russian state TV editor Margarita Simonyan said that the death toll had risen to 143, though she did not reveal the source of her information.
Reports also indicated that 28 bodies were discovered in one of the toilets at Crocus City Hall.
Fourteen bodies were found on an evacuation staircase. According to sources cited by Baza media, people were found lying in groups, presumably families.
Some people died in embraces, with many mothers found hugging their children amidst the chaos.
The Kremlin said that Putin was informed moments after the assailants burst into the venue. Video footage from the night of the attack depicted the building engulfed in flames, with a large cloud of smoke billowing into the night sky.
The street was illuminated by the flashing blue lights of numerous fire engines, ambulances, and other emergency vehicles, while fire helicopters circled overhead to douse the blaze, which took hours to contain.
Other videos circulated by Russian media and on messaging app channels showed armed men wielding assault rifles and firing at screaming victims at close range.
Footage revealed how the attackers arrived at Crocus and bypassed a police patrol to gain entry to the hall.
There were claims that the assailants were armed with both Kalashnikov assault rifles and flamethrowers. However, conflicting accounts suggested that they carried cans containing a flammable liquid, which they poured first before igniting.
