‘Terrorist attack’ on synagogues and churches in Russia’s Dagestan: What we know | Explainer News

At least 19 people were killed on Sunday when gunmen attacked a synagogue, churches and a police post in Russia’s Dagestan region.

The region has announced three days of national mourning starting Monday.

Here’s what we know about the attacks in Dagestan and why they have raised concerns in Russia.

What happened in Dagestan and when?

• Shortly before 6 p.m. local time (15:00 GMT) on Sunday, several assailants with automatic weapons attacked a synagogue and an Orthodox church in the city of Derbent, the Dagestani Interior Ministry said.
• Derbent is home to an ancient Jewish community in this predominantly Muslim region.
• The Interior Ministry said that armed men simultaneously attacked a traffic police post in Dagestan’s capital Makhachkala, about 125 kilometers north of Derbent.
• Shots were exchanged between the attackers and the security forces. Heavy firefights were reported in the Russian Orthodox Assumption Cathedral in Makhachkala.
• Russia’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee said a counter-terrorist operation was launched in Dagestan at 8:15 a.m. (05:15 GMT) on Monday. It was declared over shortly afterwards. During such operations, authorities may restrict people’s movement and communications.
• The attacks came three months after at least 133 people were killed in an attack on a concert at Moscow’s Crocus City Hall. While the Afghanistan-based Islamic State in Khorasan Province, ISKP (ISIS-K), claimed responsibility for the worst attack in Russia in years, Moscow claimed without evidence that Ukraine was involved.

Where is Dagestan on the map?

• Dagestan, officially the Republic of Dagestan, is located in the southwest of Russia. It is in the North Caucasus on the Caspian Sea.
• The largest city and capital, Makhachkala, is located 1,588 km (986 miles) southeast of Moscow.

What do we know about the victims of the synagogue attack?

• Russian authorities said on Monday that 19 people were killed, including 15 police officers and four civilians.
• Sergei Melikov, the head of the Dagestan region, said among the civilians killed was Orthodox priest Nikolai Kotelnikov, who had worked in the church in Derbent for over 40 years.
• More than a dozen people are in hospital with injuries from the attack, Al Jazeera’s Daniel Hawkins reported from Moscow.

What is the significance of Dagestan?

• Dagestan, whose majority population is Muslim, is home to more than 50 different ethnic groups. It is also known as the “Mountain of Languages” or “Mountain of Nationalities”.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin has long portrayed the North Caucasus region as a prime example of integration and loyalty to the Russian state.
• This became clear when the Kremlin chose Dagestan for its first Putin photo shoot after former Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin attempted a failed coup last year. In Dagestan, Putin mingled with locals and took photos – apparently in a sign of confidence.
• Dagestan also borders Chechnya, where a simmering separatist movement has long been raging, which Russia tried to crush through two wars – between 1994 and 1996 and then between 1999 and 2009.
• These tensions in Chechnya also spilled over into Dagestan at times. In 1999, an armed group from Chechnya with more than 1,000 fighters invaded Dagestan, provoking a military response from Russia. After more than a month of fighting, Russia recaptured all parts of the region.
• Just recently, the Russian domestic intelligence service FSB arrested four people in Dagestan in connection with the attacks on the Moscow City Hall “Crocus”, indicating Russian concerns about separatism in the region.
• During Israel’s war against Gaza, Dagestan also made global headlines when on October 29, 2023, a crowd stormed Makhachkala airport to protest the landing of a plane from Tel Aviv, Israel. The crowd chanted anti-Israel slogans. This led to the temporary closure of the airport. At least 60 people were arrested. Russia blamed Ukraine and the West for the unrest at the airport.

Who carried out the attack on Dagestan?

• So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
• However, some experts believe that a connection between the attackers and the armed group ISIL/ISIS cannot be ruled out.
• “It is possible and probably very likely that there is a link to ISIS groups because as we know ISIS has some kind of network. It is not a hierarchical structure. People who join ISIS can carry out these types of attacks,” Domitilla Sagramoso, a lecturer in security and development at the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, told Al Jazeera.
• “I think what makes a connection to ISIS likely is the nature of the targets: Orthodox churches, synagogues,” Sagramoso added.
• Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin had received reports of Sunday’s attacks.
• Russia’s Investigative Committee, the country’s top state criminal authority, said all five attackers were killed.
• “We know who is behind the organization of the terrorist attacks and what their goal was,” said Melikov, the Dagestani Prime Minister. He added that foreign forces were involved in the preparation of the attack, but did not reveal any details. “This is an attempt to split our unity.”

How did the Russian government react?

• Russia’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee described the attacks as terrorist acts.
• Putin has not yet commented on the attacks.
• The Dagestan region has declared three days of national mourning.