Gunmen kill at least 17 people in attacks on places of worship in Russia’s Dagestan

Gunmen attacked churches and synagogues in the North Caucasus region of Dagestan on Sunday, killing at least 15 police officers, a priest and a security guard, officials said.

The unknown attackers launched simultaneous attacks in Makhachkala, the region’s largest city, and in Derbent.

The attacks coincided with the Christian Orthodox Pentecost festival, which is being celebrated across Russia on Sunday.

The Russian Investigative Committee said it had launched an investigation into “terrorist acts” in Dagestan, which has been the scene of extremist attacks in the past.

“This evening in Derbent and Makhachkala, unknown persons tried to destabilize the situation in society,” Dagestan leader Sergei Melikov wrote on Telegram, without naming the perpetrators.

Melikov said more than 15 police officers had fallen victim to what he described as a “terrorist attack.”

Russian authorities said police killed four gunmen in Makhachkala and two in Derbent.

The attackers attacked “two Orthodox churches, a synagogue and a police checkpoint,” the National Anti-Terrorism Committee told Russian media.

Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church and a staunch supporter of the Kremlin, said the “enemy” wanted to destroy “interreligious peace” in the country.

The church said Archpriest Nikolai Kotelnikov was “brutally killed” in Derbent.

Gunmen also attacked synagogues in both cities, but no casualties were reported. Derbent is home to an ancient Jewish community.

In April, the Russian secret service FSB announced that four people had been arrested in Dagestan. They were suspected of having planned the deadly attack on Moscow’s “Crocus” city hall a month earlier. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.

It is known that militants from Dagestan traveled to Syria in 2015 to join ISIS.

The predominantly Muslim Dagestan lies east of Chechnya, where Russia has fought two brutal wars against separatists.

Mr Melikov said that June 24-26 had been declared days of mourning in Dagestan.

Updated: June 24, 2024, 06:08