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Russia mourns after deadly terrorist attacks on churches and synagogues

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As the death toll from Sunday’s terrorist attacks on churches and synagogues in the Russian republic of Dagestan rose to at least 20 on Monday, a three-day period of mourning was declared and condolences were expressed around the world.

Islamic terrorists killed at least 15 police officers, named by the Russian Interior Ministry, as well as a security guard, a priest and several civilians in attacks on two churches, two synagogues and a traffic police station in Makhachkala and Derbent. According to Dagestan’s Health Ministry, 46 other people were injured.

The Russian Orthodox Church said Father Nikolai Kotelnikov of the Church of the Intercession of the Virgin Mary in Derbent was “brutally killed” when the radicals slit his throat. An icon in the church and the Kele Numaz synagogue were set on fire.

The synagogue in Makhachkala was also attacked. Shootings broke out around the Assumption Cathedral and a police station. Footage shows residents running for cover as clouds of smoke rise over the city. Dagestan Governor Sergei Melikov said on Telegram that during his visit to the site he learned that the terrorists had set cars on fire and that bullet holes were visible in windows and gates.

No Jewish resident reported that the Russian Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar had killed him.

At least five attackers were killed; some were shot on the sidewalk, according to local media. TASS reported that two terrorists were killed in Derbent and three in Makhachkala, but Melikov said six people were killed. Melikov said authorities were still searching for “sleeper cells,” but as of Monday evening there had been no announcement of the perpetrators. Melikov said they “understand who is behind the organization of the terrorist attacks and what their goal was.”

Melikov claimed that foreign forces were involved in preparing the attack, but did not provide any details.

Governor of Dagestan visits the ruins of the attacks

Dagestan district head Magomed Omarov was detained after his sons were identified as participants in the attack, TASS reported. N12 reported that former mixed martial arts fighter Gadzimurad Kagirov was identified as one of the killed terrorists.

Melikov visited the church and synagogue in Derbent and promised that the authorities would help rebuild the synagogue. He ordered that there would be national mourning from June 24 to 26, that state flags would be flown at half-mast, and that all entertainment events and programs would be cancelled.

“This is an attempt to destroy our unity,” Melikov said on Telegram.

Also on Telegram, Makhachkala Mayor Yusup Umavov said the crime was aimed at destabilizing the region. The Muftiate of Dagnistan said the attacks were incompatible with Islam and that “the radicals want to use all their might to set us against each other and burn the bridges between religions. But they will not succeed.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences to those who lost loved ones.

The Kremlin said Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev had called Putin to express their condolences and support.

The spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he condemned the attacks “in the strongest possible terms.” “The Secretary-General conveys his condolences to the grieving families and the people and government of the Russian Federation and wishes the injured a speedy recovery,” said spokesman Stéphane Dujarric.

Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill said he mourned the victims of the “barbaric terrorist attack” and accused the radical attackers of wanting to “sow hatred and discord between representatives of different nationalities, cultures and religions.”

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein expressed his condolences to the Russian people and wished the injured a speedy recovery.

“Terrorism must be condemned and fought worldwide,” Marmorstein said on Monday on X. “Terrorism must not be tolerated!”

Former Moscow rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, president of the European Rabbinical Conference and living in exile, said his prayers were with the victims. He blamed the Russian government for failing to prevent another IS attack.

“Reports that ISIS is responsible for this heinous attack are further proof that Russian law enforcement agencies are not using their resources to fight ISIS and terrorism, but are misusing them to repress and kill peaceful citizens who opposed the war,” Goldschmidt said.



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