Moscow Concert Hall Attack: Did US Warn Russia About Crocus City Hall Being A Potential Target?

(News Agency)-The US government reportedly warned Russian officials that Crocus City Hall was a potential target, more than two weeks before over 140 people died in a deadly terrorist attack last month. More than 140 people died and dozens others were injured in the Moscow concert hall massacre of March 22, the most deadly terrorist attack Russia has seen in years.While the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, Russia President Vladimir Putin had said the arrested suspects were "headed to Ukraine".Armed assailants stormed the concert hall in Russia's Moscow, in the attack that came just days after Putin tightened his grip on power after winning the elections as country's war in Ukraine dragged into a third year.
While it was reported back then that the United States had issued a security alert to US citizens on March 7 saying it was monitoring reports that extremists had “imminent plans to target large gatherings" in Moscow, US' identification of the Crocus concert hall as a potential target has not been previously reported.
The Russian authorities has so far maintained that the US warning were "too general" to help preempt the attack.The U.S. officials familiar with the information that Washington shared with Moscow spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive conversations and intelligence, according to a report in The Washington Post.The report said that a spokesperson from the National Security Council (NSC) declined to comment over the matter. The NSC had previously acknowledged that the US told Russia “about a planned terrorist attack in Moscow” but did not say that Crocus City Hall was named as a possible target.
The March 7 warning advised US citizens to avoid large gatherings for the coming 48 hours. The bloody attack came just over two weeks later.