Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting, discussing measures in response to the terrorist attacks at the Crocus City Hall concert venue, via a video conference at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence, outside Moscow, Russia, March 25, 2024. (SPUTNIK, KREMLIN POOL PHOTO VIA AP)

MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that the deadly terrorist attack in the Crocus City Hall in suburban Moscow was carried out by radical Islamists, but many questions still remain.

"We know that the crime was committed by the hands of radical Islamists, whose ideology the Islamic world itself has been fighting for centuries," Putin said at a meeting on measures taken after the terrorist attack.

The Russian president said it is already known who carried out the terrorist attack, but now "we are interested in who ordered the crime."

He said that the United States, through various channels, is trying to convince everyone that there is supposedly no Kyiv trace in the bloody terrorist attack, that it is the Islamic State (ISIS).

Friday's terrorist attack occurred at the Crocus City Hall in the suburbs of Moscow, resulting in 139 deaths and 182 injuries to date

However, Putin believes questions still remain. "It is necessary to obtain answers to a number of questions, for example, are radical, even terrorist, Islamic organizations really interested in striking Russia, which today stands for a fair solution to the escalating Middle East conflict," he said.

Putin also noted that it is necessary to answer the question of why the terrorists tried to go to Ukraine after committing a crime in Crocus, and who was waiting for them there.

Calling the attack an act of intimidation, Putin said, "the question arises who benefits from this."

The investigation into the terrorist attack should be carried out to the highest degree professionally, objectively and without political bias, despite the general desire to punish the perpetrators, Putin added.

On Monday, the Moscow Basman District Court on Monday approved the detention of three more people involved in Friday's terrorist attack.

The detainees are members of the same family: Isroil Islomov, the father, and his two sons, Dilovar Islomov and Aminchon Islomov. They face charges of group terrorism and will be held until May 22. If convicted, they could receive life sentences.

Chairman of the Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin said the Islomovs provided the terrorists with "an apartment for living, a car for transportation, and transferred funds."

According to the investigation, the Islomov brothers were drawn into the terrorist group in early 2024.

The Russian Federal Security Service had previously reported the arrest of 11 suspects linked to the terrorist attack, four of whom executed the assault.

Friday's terrorist attack occurred at the Crocus City Hall in the suburbs of Moscow, resulting in 139 deaths and 182 injuries to date.