Russian officials say at least 93 people have died after a group of gunmen opened fire at a concert near Moscow last night. 

State media reports the country's security services have detained 11 suspects, including four it understands to be "directly" involved. 

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

Videos online show the attackers throwing explosives, causing a huge blaze at the 6,200-seat Crocus City Hall in the city of Krasnogorsk. 

At least three children are among the 93 people killed. 

At least 145 people were also injured in the attack, shortly before the Soviet-era rock group Picnic was due to perform. 

A Kalashnikov assault rifle lies on the ground as Investigators from the Investigative Committee of Russia after an attack on the building of the Crocus City Hall on the western edge of Moscow, Russia. Image: Associated Press / Alamy Stock Photo

One man in the audience described the shooting as “not sporadic” but “constant”. 

“We all got up and tried to move towards the aisle,” he said. 

“People began to panic, started the run and collided with each other... some fell down and others were trampled.” 

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said it was a "bloody terrorist attack" that the entire world should condemn. 

The UN Security Council condemned “the heinous and cowardly terrorist attack” and said the perpetrators must be held accountable. 

A US official said Washington had warned Moscow in recent weeks of the possibility of an attack. 

National Security Council spokesman Adrienne Watson claimed the US “had information about a planned terrorist attack in Moscow” and said they issued an advisory to Americans in Russia. 

“The US government also shared this information with Russian authorities in accordance with its longstanding 'duty to warn' policy,” she said. 

The attack comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin cemented another six years in power after an election deemed highly manipulated. 

It is the deadliest attack in the country since the 2004 Beslan school siege, when Islamist militants took more than 1,000 people, including hundreds of children, hostage.