Behind Moscow concert hall terror attack: Vladimir Putin's backing of Syria's Assad

Russia fell victim to one of the deadliest terror attacks in its history. More than 140 people have died, and four gunmen among 11 people have been arrested. The attack comes days after Russian President Vladimir Putin won his fifth term in office. The ghastly terror attack was claimed by the Islamic State's Afghanistan branch, the Islamic State in Khorasan Province, according to Reuters news agency.

While the terrorist group based in Afghanistan has a history of carrying out attacks in Afghanistan and neighbouring Pakistan, this is perhaps the first time that the group launched a swift inside Moscow.

While Friday's assault may seem to be a dramatic escalation, experts believe that the Islamic State's action on Russia was in the waiting.

Colin Clarke of Soufan Center, a New York-based research group told Reuters news agency that ISIS has been fixated on Russia for the past two years, frequently criticising Putin in its propaganda.

Michael Kugelman of the Washington-based Wilson Center said that the terror group sees Russia as being complicit in activities that regularly oppress Muslims.

He added that there are a number of Central Asian militants who have grievances against Moscow.

ISIL and Russia have also long been enemies in other battlefields, especially Syria with President Putin's intervention in the Syrian Civil War in 2015. Putin had backed President Bashar al-Assad against the Islamic State.

Moscow’s airpower and support for Bashar al-Assad’s regime have been critical in pushing back gains made by ISIS fighters in the early years of the civil war.

Russian forces have also been accused by rights groups and other opposition fronts in Syria of carrying out abuses and excesses against civilians through their bombing campaigns.

The ISIS-K was formed in 2015 by disenchanted members of the Pakistani Taliban. It quickly raised its international profile by carrying out attacks on Afghan security forces, ministries, and religious minorities.

According to the Institute for Economics and Peace, ISIS-K was labelled one of the top four deadliest terrorist organisations in 2018, receiving funds worth $100 million and training from the Islamic State's central leadership in Iraq and Syria.

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