Several dead in attack on Orthodox church and synagogue in Russian Dagestan

Unknown assailants have attacked an Orthodox church and a synagogue in the predominantly Muslim Republic of Dagestan, state media reports. reported At least two police officers, a priest and a security guard were killed on Sunday.

Officials reported that the attackers fired automatic rifles at the synagogue and church in the city of Derbent at around 6 p.m. local time and then fled the scene in a white Volkswagen Polo.

As videos published on the Internet show, the synagogue caught fire shortly after the attack. A shootout in the synagogue left one police officer dead and another injured, regional police said.

Father Nikolai, a 66-year-old priest of the Orthodox Church in Derbent, was killed in a knife attack, said Shamil Khadulaev, chairman of Dagestan’s public monitoring commission. He said the priests had locked themselves in the church and were waiting for help.

A security guard at the Orthodox Church in Makhachkala was also killed, Khadulaev said.

Separately, a group of unknown assailants attacked a traffic police post in the regional capital of Makhachkala. At least one police officer was killed and six others were injured in an armed clash that followed the attack, the region’s Interior Ministry said. said.

The regional interior ministry said two militants were killed, but did not say in which city this happened.

Russia’s Investigative Committee said it had launched a criminal terrorism investigation into the armed attacks in Derbent and Makhachkala.

Residents of Makhachkala were asked to stay in their homes.

This is an evolving story.