Washington Post: U.S. warned Russia that terrorist attack would take place at Crocus

The Washington Post has published an article based on the accounts of anonymous sources in the US government. According to them, the warning about the Islamic State attack stated that the terrorists intended to carry out an attack in Crocus City Hall.

The day before, the head of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergei Naryshkin, said that the FSB had received "some information" from the US intelligence services, but that this "information was too general and did not allow us to fully identify those who participated in this terrible crime".

Russian officials have previously downplayed the significance of the information received from the United States.

The sources also told the Washington Post exactly when the information was passed to the Russian side: according to them, it was on 6 March.

The next day, the American embassy in Moscow issued a warning to its citizens about the threat of an attack; it named "concerts" as possible targets.

The US intelligence services share the information they receive about terrorist attacks even with hostile states – for example, they warned Iran about the upcoming ISIS attack in Kerman in January.

However, according to Washington Post sources and experts, the details of the attacks are rarely reported, as this could lead to the disclosure of sources and methods of intelligence gathering.

Not only the WP, but also another American publication, The New York Times, writes, citing its sources, that the CIA informed Russia about the threat of an attack on the Crocus City Hall concert hall by the Islamic State.

"The U.S. warning to Russia before the terrorist attack near Moscow was very specific – according to U.S. officials, Crocus City Hall was a potential target of the Islamic State," the article says.

The warning pointed to the correct location, but the time was not exact, and it was possible to assume that the attack could occur within a few days, the New York Times reported. And on 7 March, the US Embassy issued a public warning about possible terrorist attacks in the next two days.

On 22 March, militants stormed a concert hall, killing 144 people, the deadliest attack in Russia in almost 20 years, the American newspaper recalled. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.

Background. As reported, Iran also warned the Russian authorities about the possibility of an ISIS terrorist attack.