According to Reuters, an Islamic State spokesman praised the group’s attack that killed more than 140 people at a Russian concert hall outside Moscow.

Abu Hutaifa al-Ansari made the comments in a recorded message posted on the militant group’s Telegram channel on Thursday.

Al-Ansari also repeated the call for the group’s supporters to attack the “crusaders” everywhere, especially in the United States, Europe and Israel.

“We ask God that you will reach Palestine so that you can fight the Jews face to face in the endless religious war,” he said.

Russian investigators said Thursday that they had found evidence that the concert hall attackers had ties to “Ukrainian nationalists.” The United States immediately dismissed the claim as unsubstantiated propaganda.

In the first 24 hours after the armed attack, 11 people were detained, eight of them, including four suspects, chose preventive measures. Seven are from the Central Asian country of Tajikistan, and one is from Kyrgyzstan.

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