Russia casts doubt on ISIS responsibility for concert hall attack

Moscow accuses Washington of covering for Kyiv after US says it believes group’s claim

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MOSCOW challenged assertions by the United States that the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militant group orchestrated a gun attack at a concert hall outside Moscow that killed 137 people and injured 182 others, accusing Washington of covering for Ukraine.

Russia on March 25 In what has been the deadliest attack within Russia for two decades, four men burst into the Crocus City Hall on the night of March 22, spraying people with bullets during a concert by Soviet-era rock group Piknik.

Four men, at least one a Tajik, were remanded in custody for terrorism. They appeared separately, led into a cage at Moscow's Basmanny District Court by Federal Security Service officers.

ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack, a claim the US has publicly said it believed, and the militant group has since released what it says is footage from the attack.

US officials said they warned Russia of intelligence about an imminent attack earlier in March.