Nations on High Alert After Latest ISIS Attacks.

(FeaturedHeadlines.com) Russia is not the only country bolstering security in the wake of a terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall outside Moscow. France, which is set to host the Olympic Games in summer 2024, is increasing its own security in an effort to prevent such an attack from happening on its own soil.

On March 22, a group of armed gunmen carried out a shooting at Crocus City Hall, killing at least 139 people; the death toll remains fluid as of this writing. An Islamic State terrorist group affiliate, Islamic State – Khorasan Province (ISKP), claimed responsibility for the attack.

France raised its security alert posture to the maximum level in response to the attack. French Prime Minister Gabrial Attal pointed to France’s own history of attacks by the Islamic State as part of the reason the government chose to bolster security.

Despite ISKP’s claim of responsibility for the terrorist attack, it remains unclear whether or to what extent they were involved. Russian President Vladimir Putin pinned the attack on “radical Islamists” without naming ISKP directly. Putin also noted that the terrorists attempted to flee to Ukraine after carrying out the attack, although Ukraine denies any ties to the terrorists.

Russian authorities arrested four men from Tajikistan in connection with the attack and claimed that they all pleaded guilty to the charges against them. Russia also arrested 10 other people for allegedly aiding the attackers.

However, the four suspects appeared battered during their court appearance, raising questions about whether their confessions were made under duress. Regardless, some Russian officials have urged execution for the attackers, although capital punishment has been banned in Russia for more than two decades.

Russian state media chief Margarita Simonyan contended that capital punishment would be too easy on the attackers. Instead, Simonyan suggested that the perpetrators should be subject to hard labor underground, without a chance to “ever see light” again.

The exact nature of ISKP’s involvement—or Ukraine’s—remains unclear as of this writing, but that does not appear to be deterring France from bolstering its security out of an abundance of caution ahead of the Olympic Games.

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