In the face of rampant skepticism, ISIS has now provided photographic evidence it was behind the massacre at a Moscow concert hall. 

The attack occurred on Friday evening, with gunmen entering the Crocus City Hall with AK-style weapons and explosives. Terrifying videos of the ordeal were made public showing people being gunned down in cold blood as others hid behind barriers. Russian FSB forces eventually arrived with the building already in flames. 

SEE: Terrorist Attack at Moscow Concert Hall, Fatalities Reported

(WARNING: GRAPHIC)

Multiple gunmen have broken into the Crocus City Hall concert venue in Moscow, opening fire on those inside. Raw footage shows the terrorists opening fire on civilians and security forces. pic.twitter.com/ynTelGwqUu

— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) March 22, 2024

Within hours ISIS put out a statement of responsibility through its propaganda outlet, Amaq News Agency. That didn't stop speculation from running wild that it was Ukraine, the CIA, Israel, or some combination of the three behind the attack.

READ: ISIS Claims Responsibility for Moscow Attack in Surprise Twist, Skepticism Follows

Apparently, ISIS wasn't a fan of people stealing credit and responded again on Saturday.

ISIS has now released an additional Statement in which they claim Responsibility for the Terrorist Attack last night against the Crocus Concert Hall in the Russian Capital of Moscow; while also Posting a Picture of the Attackers only minutes before the Shooting began, in which… pic.twitter.com/zmsH9degmD

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 23, 2024

If ISIS was not behind the attack, it wouldn't have access to the above photograph, and the details do match up with the pictures of the attackers found at the concert hall. The idea that this was a secret CIA plot carried out in conjunction with the Ukrainians, as Vladimir Putin suggested in his recent remarks, just doesn't make any sense, and it's now flying in the face of hard evidence.

READ: Despite ISIS Claim of Responsibility, Russia Blames Ukraine for Concert Hall Attack

As I wrote in my original write-up on the Moscow terrorist attack, Occam's razor says ISIS is telling the truth here. They've been carrying out mass casualty attacks for months against those they deem to be enemies, with one occurring in Iran in January. ISIS has no love lost for Russia because the two of them have essentially been at war for a decade. The terrorist group is even operating in the Caucasus region, and the attackers were Russian citizens.

In other words, Putin is almost certainly lying by making the baseless claim that the terrorists had a "window" opened for them to enter Ukraine after the attack. Why is that an incredibly stupid assertion? Because Russia controls Eastern Ukraine and is dug in on the northern border, which means the terrorists would be running right into the teeth of Putin's military build-up. Does that sound probable to anyone when they could have simply fled to an EU nation or the Caucasus region where they have allies?

There's no motivation for Ukraine or the United States to be involved in such an attack anyway. If a connection was made to Ukraine, it would only rally support for the war in Ukraine. Further, if the CIA was trying to pull one over on Moscow, they wouldn't have preemptively warned the Russians that an attack was coming. 

Here's what all the evidence points to at this moment. Putin got caught with his pants down and doesn't want to admit ISIS got the best of him. The Russian president needs a vast conspiracy involving the West to blame because the truth is too embarrassing.