Shooting in New Zealand mosques: terrorists killed at least 49 people

At least 49 people died in an armed attack on two mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch. Dozens are badly injured.

Photo: video frame

Russian service with the BBC collected everything that is currently known about what happened.

When and how did it happen?

In the east of New Zealand, in the city of Christchurch, unknown persons opened fire on people who were in two mosques.

Armed men broke into the Al Noor mosque in the central part of the city and a mosque in the suburb of Lynnwood at about 13:45 local time and opened fire on the people there.

At the time of the attack, there were about 500 people in two mosques.

Police later found several un-powered improvised explosive devices in cars parked near mosques.

Shooting, open in two mosques, was the bloodiest in the history of New Zealand.

What is known about the victims of the attack?
The victims of the attack, according to the latest data, were 49 people, dozens more were seriously injured. Among the victims of the attack, according to the authorities of the country, are many migrants, including refugees.

“Christchurch has become home for them. For many, it was not their birthplace. For many, New Zealand has become a choice. The place they came to and dedicated themselves to,” said Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

Among the injured and dead are citizens of different countries.

It is known that at the time of the attack, six Indonesian citizens were in the mosques. According to the foreign minister of this country, three of his compatriots managed to escape when the shooting began. Three more are missing.

The Afghan Ambassador to New Zealand reported that three Afghans were injured. Among the injured are also two citizens of Malaysia.

It later turned out that the cricket team of Bangladesh was entering the mosque at the very moment when shooting began there.

All players remained safe and sound, although, as reported by one of them, they experienced a strong shock. Scheduled match involving the national team canceled.

A reporter accompanying the visiting Bangladesh cricket team tweeted that he had "fled from the mosque near Hagley Park where the shooting took place."

According to the 2013 census, Islam professes only a little over 1% of New Zealand’s population.

What is known about the attackers?

It is not clear how many people took part in the attack. Three people detained.

According to police, one of the three detainees, a man aged 26-29, has been charged with murder.

It is reported that he will appear in court on Saturday morning, March 16. Four people were initially detained, but as the police determined, most likely one of them was not involved in the attack.

During the police operation, improvised explosive devices, firearms and ammunition were confiscated. Judging by the number of weapons found, experts say, the attack on the mosques was carefully prepared.

Eyewitnesses told local media that a man in military camouflage and a helmet, armed with an automatic weapon, opened fire on the parishioners of the Al-Nur mosque. Apparently he was alone.

Shortly after the attack, a video appeared on the Internet, filmed by the attacker on a camera mounted on a helmet. The record shows that he was armed with shotguns and semi-automatic rifles. Agency France-Press made a digital examination of the video and reports that it is genuine.

“Police are aware that there is an extremely violent video online relating to the incident in Christchurch. We strongly urge you not to distribute it. We are working to remove this video,” New Zealand Police said on Twitter.

Now in New Zealand, many are wondering how the security services did not notice the preparation of such a serious attack. It is noted that the names of the detainees did not appear in the lists of suspects in terrorism.

No information about the identity and motives of the participants in the attack on the second mosque (in the Lynwood area) is available.

What are the possible goals and motives of the attackers?

Prime Minister Jasinda Ardern called the attack an act of terrorism and an unprecedented act of violence in the country's history.

One participant in the attack is reportedly an Australian who, before the attack, wrote a manifesto expressing far-right extremist, anti-immigrant views. The author of the manifesto claims to be 28 years old and a native of Australia.

“This is a terrorist attack,” says the text of the manifesto. According to media reports, it was the author of the manifesto who broadcast the attack on the mosque on the Internet. In the text, he describes himself as a simple Australian from a family with a lower-average income.

The police of New Zealand confirmed that among the detainees there is a citizen of Australia, but his name is not called. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison also reported that one of the attackers on the mosques in Christchurch was an extreme right-wing Australian. At the same time, Morrison called his compatriot an extremist and right-wing terrorist.

A Twitter page that may have belonged to the suspect posted photographs of the weapon he used. It looks the same as the shotguns and machine guns in the shooting video. Judging by the photographs, before the attack, the suspect wrote the dates of major battles in world history in different languages ​​on weapons and on ammunition magazines.

What happens in the city?

All mosques in New Zealand are currently closed for security purposes.

The police asks residents to stay away from the area of ​​the incident and, if possible, not to take to the streets.

All schools in Christchurch were closed on Friday, local police commissioner Mike Bush said.

Howard Griffith, a BBC correspondent in New Zealand, reports that a major operation involving police and paramedics is underway in the shooting area.

The police also reportedly cleared the Cathedral Square of the city, where thousands of children participated in a rally dedicated to combating global warming.

Where else were the attacks on Muslims?

The attack in the Christchurch mosques was the bloodiest attack on civilians in the history of New Zealand. This is the largest attack on Muslims, committed in countries that the UN characterizes as developed.

Of the events of recent years, only the shooting opened by extremists in a mosque in the Canadian province of Quebec can be compared with it, but there the number of those killed was many times less - six.

Mass killings of worshipers in mosques in the 21st century occurred in zones of military conflicts: in Iraq, Syria, the Central African Republic, and were committed by militants of the Al-Qaeda and Islamic State organizations banned in Russia and other countries, as well as other Islamist groups.

In 2015, a series of attacks by machine gunners on mosques was carried out in two cities in Nigeria - Kukawa and Maiduguri; they were also accompanied by explosions and attacks on civilian homes. The extremist group Boko Haram, banned in many countries, including Russia, claimed responsibility for them. About one and a half thousand people became victims of these attacks.

In November, 2017, the target of a carefully planned armed attack was the Al-Ravda Mosque in the Egyptian province of North Sinai. Militants who carried the flags of the forbidden organization of the IG, drove up to the mosque during Friday prayers on four off-road vehicles, and then opened fire. More than 230 people died.

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