Four dead in attack on Orthodox church in Dagestan

Several unidentified gunmen attacked an Orthodox church and a synagogue in the predominantly Muslim republic of Dagestan, state media reported on Sunday, killing at least two police officers, a priest and a security guard.

The attackers fired at the synagogue and church in the city of Derbent with automatic rifles at around 6 p.m. local time. They immediately left the scene in a white Volkswagen Polo, officials reported.

One police officer was killed and another injured in a shooting at the synagogue, regional police said. Shortly afterwards, the synagogue caught fire.

Shamil Khadulaev, chairman of the Dagestani Public Monitoring Commission, said that Father Nikolai, a 66-year-old priest of the Orthodox Church in Derbent, was killed in a knife attack. He added that other priests were hiding in the church and waiting for help. Khadulaev confirmed that a security guard of the Orthodox Church in Makhachkala was also killed.

In a separate incident, unknown assailants attacked a traffic police station in the regional capital Makhachkala. At least one policeman was killed and six others were injured in an armed clash that followed the attack, the region’s Interior Ministry said.

The regional Interior Ministry reported that two militants were killed, but did not specify in which city. Russia’s Investigative Committee has launched a criminal terrorism investigation into the armed attacks in Derbent and Makhachkala.

Details coming soon…