News - World: Acting Foreign Minister Hisham Sharaf conveyed his heartfelt condolences to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov following the terrorist attack on the outskirts of Moscow.

In his message, Sharaf vehemently condemned the cowardly act of terrorism perpetrated at the Crocus City shopping center in the Krasnogorsk region, targeting innocent civilians.

He extended the sympathies of Yemen, represented by both the Supreme Political Council and the government, to the Russian government, people, and the families of the victims, while also wishing a swift recovery for the wounded.

Emphasizing the global rejection of terrorism in all its forms, Sharaf underscored its grave threat to international peace and security.

He stressed the imperative of holding accountable those responsible for these terrorist acts, along with their financiers and supporters, emphasizing that terrorism and extremism do not recognize space and time, as their goal is to destroy societies and negatively impact their social fabric.

Russia's state Investigative Committee said on Saturday that 133 people had been killed in the attack. More than 150 people have also been injured in the attack.

The Investigative Committee said the death toll is even feared to rise further given the scale of destruction inflicted on the Crocus City Hall in the Moscow Region.

Emergency services continue to dig through the rubble of the building, which was partially destroyed in a massive fire set off by the attackers.

According to Russian authorities, at least four men armed with assault rifles stormed the hall on Friday evening ahead of a rock concert.

The attackers entered the concert hall shot civilians on sight at point-blank range, and set it on fire.

Following the massacre, the suspects fled the scene but were later on apprehended by Russian law enforcement near the Ukraine border.

The Russian authorities said the preliminary findings showed that the attackers were attempting to cross into Ukraine.

The FSB security service said the gunmen had contacts in Ukraine and were captured near the border. It said they were being transferred to Moscow.

In a televised address on Saturday, President Putin said 11 people had been arrested, including the four gunmen who carried out the attack.

"They tried to hide and moved towards Ukraine, where, according to preliminary data, a window was prepared for them on the Ukrainian side to cross the state border," he said.

Putin said that “all the perpetrators, organizers, and those who ordered this crime will be justly and inevitably punished.”

“Whoever they are, whoever is guiding them," he added. 

"We will identify and punish everyone who stands behind the terrorists, who prepared this atrocity, this strike against Russia, against our people," the Russian leader announced.

The Daesh militant group claimed responsibility for Friday's massacre in the concert hall, the group's Amaq agency said on Telegram.

Daesh said its fighters attacked the concert hall on the outskirts of Moscow, "killing and wounding hundreds and causing great destruction to the place before they withdrew to their bases safely." 

On Saturday it released a photograph of what it said were the four attackers.