Nearly 100 still in hospital following Moscow terrorist attack

People lay flowers at a spontaneous memorial to the victims of the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall, organized on the spit of Vasilyevsky Island in the center of St. Petersburg. The terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack at a concert, with least 133 people dead and more than 100 injured. Artem Priakhin/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Three days after the terrorist attack on a Moscow concert hall, 97 people are still being treated in hospitals, the head of the Moscow region's health administration said on Monday.

The patients are spread across hospitals in the capital and the Moscow region, Lyudmila Bolatayeva said.

According to Russian news agencies, the injuries suffered varied in severity.

By the Russian authorities' most recent count, 137 people were killed and more than 180 injured in the attack on Friday evening. It cannot be ruled out that more bodies will be found in the rubble of the burnt-out hall.

Four armed men shot indiscriminately at visitors before a rock concert in the Crocus City Hall event centre. On Sunday evening, four suspects were brought before a court in Moscow and taken into custody. The faces of the men showed injuries as traces of suspected torture.

In total, 11 people suspected of involvement in the attack have been detained, according to the authorities.

According to media reports, mourners were still laying flowers at an improvised memorial at the Crocus City Hall fence on Monday.

The Islamic State terrorist militia claimed responsibility for the attack in several messages.

Western security authorities and experts consider the claim to be credible and suspect the IS offshoot Islamic State Province of Khorasan (ISPK) to be behind the attack.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday plans to discuss additional measures with his security officials, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to the Interfax news agency.

The meeting will also address the question of how victims and their families can be supported, Peskov said.

The Kremlin spokesman refused to comment on the numerous reports about the alleged torture of four detained suspects by Russian security forces.

In response to a journalist who pointed to the men's clearly visible injuries in the courtroom and to videos of torture, Peskov merely said: "I will leave this question unanswered."

Videos have been circulating on social networks that appear to show the suspected attackers being tortured, including one of them having his ear cut off. Dpa is unable to independently confirm the authenticity of the videos.

The suspects had visible bruises, swollen faces, lacerations and other injuries, and one of the men had a large bandage over his ear. Russian media reports said that one of the men was unable to walk and was wheeled into the courtroom on a stretcher.

Human rights activists have condemned the alleged torture of the suspects by Russian security forces.

"The answer to barbarism must not be barbarism," said the Russian rights group "Komanda protiw pytok" (Team against Torture) on Monday. "We have always said and will always say that the value of evidence obtained by security forces through torture is critically low. Instead of telling the truth, a person usually tells what can stop or at least interrupt this torture."

Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, did not address the background to the attack on the Crocus City Hall concert hall on Friday, but referred to information from the Russian law enforcement authorities.

Russian authorities have yet to comment on Islamic State's claim for responsibility, a claim Western security authorities and experts consider credible.

Putin, however, has hinted at a Ukrainian connection to the assault, without providing any evidence. Putin also claimed that the perpetrators of the attack attempted to flee in the direction of Ukraine.

Ukraine has adamantly denied any responsibility for the attack, and has also pointed out that the border region is heavily mined more than two years into Russia's all-out invasion of its neighbour.

Due to the war, the area is also a hotbed for Russian military and secret service officials, making it an unlikely escape route for the attackers, according to Kiev.

Intelligence services from the United States and other Western countries at the beginning of March warned of a potential imminent terror attack in Moscow. However, Putin dismissed the warnings as a Western provocation.

© Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH