Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for a 22 March attack that reportedly killed over 130 people in a concert hall in a Moscow suburb. US officials have said the reportedly four gunmen belong to the regional offshoot of IS often known as Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP).*
Prior to March, there was however little activity claimed by ISKP in Russia, although the Russian security services killed two alleged ISKP fighters in Kaluga, south of the capital, on 7 March 2024.
ACLED data on political violence by IS actors of all kinds in Russia counts more than 40 incidents from 2018 — when ACLED began coding events in the country — until 2023.
Visuals produced by Ana Marco.
*Correction 16 April 2024 | A first version of this Insight on 23 March inaccurately stated that ISKP was involved in over 140 events in seven countries.
IS offshoots across Central Asia and the world use different names. ACLED is undergoing a review process to determine which IS offshoot names are most appropriate to use in each country’s context and will update the methodology documentation accordingly. ACLED is a living dataset, and historical data are often revised based on newly available information. For more see this FAQ in the Knowledge Base.
