CAIRO, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Countries in the Middle East have expressed condolences and condemned the terror attack at a suburban Moscow concert hall Friday night that has so far claimed at least 133 lives.
The Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that it "condemns, in the strongest terms, the terrorist attack on Friday evening against a commercial center on the outskirts of the Russian capital of Moscow, which left dozens dead and injured."
In a post on social media platform X, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian condemned the deadly "terrorist attack" and extended condolences to the Russian government and the people on the "bitter" incident.
Amir-Abdollahian stressed that a common and effective fight against terrorism required the international community's serious and indiscriminate action.
In a condolence message to Chairman of Russia's State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin on Saturday, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said he prayed for the speedy recovery of those wounded, voicing Iran's readiness for cooperation with all independent states to find a comprehensive solution to counter-terrorism.
In a statement on Friday, the Tunisian Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed the country's "strong condemnation of the cowardly terrorist attack, which resulted in several deaths and injuries to innocent people."
The ministry stressed that "our country opposes all forms of violence, extremism and terrorism."
On Saturday, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said in a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin that "Lebanon strongly condemns the terrorist act that occurred last night in the capital, Moscow," extending condolences to the families of the victims and wishing a speedy recovery to the injured.
He confirmed Lebanon's solidarity with Russia and its absolute rejection and complete denunciation of all forms of violence, extremism, and terrorism.
In a televised address on Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the attack a "bloody, barbaric terrorist act," saying that all four gunmen who were directly involved in the attack had been arrested.
Putin declared March 24 a day of nationwide mourning for the victims.
The death toll from Friday's terrorist attack has risen to 133 after gunmen stormed a concert hall in Moscow, the Investigative Committee of Russia said Saturday.
The committee said a preliminary inspection showed the terrorists used automatic weapons, along with ammunition that they had left behind in the concert hall, and they used flammable liquid to start a fire on the premises. ■
