Moscow concert attack: Putin suggests Ukraine was linked

Moscow, Mar 23 (AP) Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday that additional security measures have been imposed throughout the country and suggested that Ukraine was linked to the attack on a concert hall on the outskirts of Moscow that killed 115 people.

The Islamic State group's Afghanistan branch claimed responsibility for Friday's attack in a statement posted on affiliated channels on social media. A U.S. intelligence official told The Associated Press that U.S. agencies had confirmed that the group was responsible for the attack.

However, some Russian politicians pointed the finger at Ukraine shortly after the attack — accusations that Ukraine has strongly denied.

Putin said all four people directly involved in the attack had been detained and suggested they were trying to cross the border into Ukraine while escaping. He provided no evidence for that claim.

Putin ordered that Sunday will be a nationwide day of mourning. The attack was the deadliest in Russia in years and left the concert hall a smoldering ruin. AP