"Russia Doubts Islamic State's Role in Moscow Attack"

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova expressed doubt that Islamic State could have carried out the recent attack on a Moscow concert hall, instead reiterating Russia's unsubstantiated claims that Ukraine was behind the deadly incident. Despite Islamic State claiming responsibility and U.S. officials citing intelligence linking the attack to the group's Afghan branch, Russia has accused the West of hastily blaming Islamic State to deflect from Ukraine and its supporters. President Vladimir Putin has suggested that the attack may have been to Ukraine's benefit and implicated Ukrainian involvement, while the director of Russia's FSB security agency has alleged the involvement of Ukraine, the United States, and Britain in the attack.