US warned Russia that imminent terror attack would be on Crocus City Hall two weeks before Isis gunmen struck but Putin dismissed caution as a bid to 'destabilize our society'

US officials warned Russia that an imminent terror attack would happen on Moscow's Crocus City Hall two weeks before Isis gunmen struck but Putin dismissed the caution as a bid to 'destabilize our society'.

Intelligence agencies had gathered information that ISIS was planning an attack in Moscow and even identified Crocus City Hall as a potential target, a fact that had not been reported until now.

But Russian president Putin dismissed the warnings as 'provocative', calling them 'outright blackmail' and a bid to 'intimidate and destabilize our society' just three days before the gunmen killed more than 140 people in the venue.

Moscow claims that the US warnings were 'too general' to prevent the attack, which has now been contradicted by US officials as they named Crocus City Hall as a potential target, according to The Washington Post.

Sergei Naryshkin, the head of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service, told reporters in Moscow that Russia 'took appropriate measures' to prevent an attack - despite it taking an hour for specialized police arriving at the venue after authorities were alerted around 8pm on March 22.

US officials warned Russia that an imminent terror attack would happen on Moscow 's Crocus City Hall two weeks before Isis gunmen struck but Putin (pictured) dismissed the caution as a bid to 'destabilize our society'

A person looks on the Crocus City Hall concert venue following a terrorist attack in Krasnogorsk, outside Moscow, Russia, March 24, 2024

Gunmen open fire at Crocus City Hall, in Krasnogorsk, Moscow region, Russia, March 22, 2024 

A US intelligence official last month described how American agencies learned how a cell of ISIS based in Afghanistan was planning an attack in Moscow and shared the information with Russian officials. 

US officials say that the information was privately shared as recently as three days  before gunmen burst into a large concert hall on March 22, spraying the crowd with gunfire, killing more than 140 people.

The gunmen also set fire to the Crocus City Hall venue in the Russian capital.

Earlier in March, the US embassy in Moscow also issued a security alert.

It warned about a potential terror attack in Moscow and urging people to avoid crowds and be aware of their surroundings.

'The Embassy is monitoring reports that extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow, to include concerts, and US citizens should be advised to avoid large gatherings over the next 48 hours,' the March 7 security alert stated.

Concerts were specifically mentioned as a potential target in the US security alert.

It is not clear what prompted the warning or whether it was related to the attack. 

The US gave the intelligence to Russia under the Duty to Warn requirement - an intelligence community requirement to notify US and non-US groups of potential impending threats. 

The US embassy issued another alert after the attack saying it was 'aware' of it and urged Americans to avoid the area.

'We strongly condemn the horrendous attack carried out at a concert hall in Moscow. We express our deepest sympathies with the families of the victims,' Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement.

Russia's Federal Security Service, or FSB, has called the incident a 'terrorist attack.' 

'All this resembles outright blackmail and the intention to intimidate and destabilize our society,' President Putin said in a statement. 

Social media footage shows as gunmen dressed in camouflage clothing opening fire with automatic weapons at people in the Crocus City Hall music venue near Moscow

ISIS' news agency Amaq released sickening a 90-second selfie video of the attack that is too graphic for MailOnline to share

A view shows the burning Crocus City Hall concert hall following the shooting incident in Krasnogorsk, outside Moscow, on March 22, 2024

Rescuers clearing the rubble and extinguishing fires in the hall of the Crocus City Hall

Gunmen can be seen shooting in a concert hall on the western edge of Moscow on Friday night

The Islamic State group claimed 'sole responsibility' for the attack in a statement posted on affiliated channels on social media. 

US officials later confirmed that a branch of ISIS, Islamic State-Khorasan or ISIS-K, was responsible and had been planning at attack.

ISIS-K had been known to operate in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran, and was active inside Russia, two US officials previously told The Washington Post.

The attack, which left the concert hall in flames with a collapsing roof, was the deadliest in Russia in years and came as the country's war in Ukraine dragged into a third year. 

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin called the raid a 'huge tragedy.' 

The Kremlin said Putin was informed minutes after the assailants burst into Crocus City Hall, a large music venue on Moscow's western edge that can accommodate 6,200 people.

The attack took place as crowds gathered for a performance by the Russian rock band Picnic.

Video showed the building on fire, with a huge cloud of smoke rising through the night sky. 

The street was lit up by the blinking blue lights of dozens of firetrucks, ambulances and other emergency vehicles, as fire helicopters buzzed overhead to dump water on the blaze that took hours to contain. 

On social media, graphic videos were posted purporting to show the attack unfolding with gunshots and screams of concertgoers heard.