Multiple gunmen attacked the Crocus city hall near Moscow in Russia on Friday. Several reports claim that at least 130 people died in the attack. ISIS-K claimed responsibility for this attack.
Peter Bergen, CNN National Security Analyst and skeptic of the ISIS attack on the Russian concert hall on Saturday’s “AC360” on CNN suggested that Joe Biden would be negatively affected if ISIS K did attack the Russian Concert Hall.
ISIS-K (Islamic State Khorasan) is the Afghanistan-based terrorist group Islamic State.
Bergen cited Biden’s botched Afghan withdrawal and said that it would be “very embarrassing for the Biden Administration” if ISIS-K regrouped so much that it could reach out to other nations [and] launch major attacks.
Bergen stated, “I was skeptical because ISIS fighters don’t usually care if they are killed on the spot.” “You’re not — you’re just looking to martyr yourself, and you don’t care about a getaway. According to the Russians, it appears the people in this case did escape. “That’s not typical of an ISIS attack.”
U.S. intelligence confirmed that ISIS was behind the attack.
He continued, “So — it turns out, however, that not only the Americans had intelligence in their systems about ISIS presence, but that the Russians also did,” he said. “Why else would Russian state TV report on March 7, about an attack by ISIS against a Moscow Synagogue?” “So, I’m not sure. It’s not their usual style.” “ISIS has certainly attacked concert venues before.”
Bergen continued:
You may recall that in Paris in 2015 they killed 130 people. Most — many of these victims were at a concert. This work may be exactly what this group claims. I’m still searching for evidence and hope to identify these people fairly quickly. Are they Chechens or Tajiks? If they’re ISIS. Did they train in Afghanistan? This is a big question.
It would be embarrassing for the Biden Administration if ISIS-K had regrouped so much that they could reach out to other nations [and] launch major attacks, at a moment when they are responsible for withdrawing U.S. soldiers from Afghanistan.
The United States warned Vladimir Putin about a terrorist attack imminent earlier this month. But Moscow rejected those warnings as an attempt to “intimidate and destabilize” our society.
Sources within the U.S. Intelligence Community claim that a cell of ISIS-K terrorists was under surveillance in November. Indications point to plans to attack Moscow. On March 8, the U.S. Embassy in Moscow warned Americans about an “imminent danger” and advised them to avoid crowded places like concert halls.
Joe Biden, who has claimed for years that he has no regrets over the botched Afghan withdrawal, has also said he would do nothing differently. The deadly withdrawal has not been blamed on anyone in the administration. NBC News reported that the botched removal “recreates the safe harbor Al Qaeda enjoyed before” we entered the country in 2001. Foreign intelligence officials expressed concern about the resurgence of global jihadists after the Taliban’s victory in Afghanistan.
