Turkish Official: Moscow Attackers Passed Through Turkey

A Turkish security official revealed that "the militants who carried out the bloody attack in a suburb of Moscow last week entered Turkey and stayed briefly to renew their Russian residency permits, but did not turn to extremism there." The official, who requested anonymity, stated in an interview with Reuters that "there were no arrest warrants against the attackers, which means they could travel freely between Turkey and Russia, and they had lived in Moscow for a long time." He added that two of the attackers left Turkey for Moscow on the same flight on March 2, 2024. The attack resulted in the deaths of more than 143 people and injured dozens, with the Islamic State later claiming responsibility for it.