Attackers kill at least nine people in attack on synagogue and Orthodox church in Russia

Kotelnikov, 66, was killed in the Church of the Intercession of the Virgin Mary in Derbent. Gunmen also attacked the city’s only synagogue, which was apparently empty at the time.

Russia launched an “anti-terrorist operation” as shootings continued into the night in Derbent and the regional capital Makhachkala, including at the Assumption Cathedral, where people were reportedly trapped.

Two suspects were killed at a traffic police post in Makhachkala, the Dagestani Interior Ministry said. Two other suspects were detained on a beach there.

State news agencies reported, citing law enforcement officials, that the attackers were “supporters of an international terrorist organization” and used foreign weapons.

Sergei Melikov, the head of Dagestan, called the incident “an attempt to destabilize the situation,” while Abdulkhakim Gadzhiyev, a Duma member of the Republic of Dagestan, attributed the attack to “the secret services of Ukraine and NATO countries.”

Russian Senator Dmitry Rogozin then complained that if every terrorist attack is blamed on “the intrigues of Ukraine and NATO, this pink fog will cause us big problems.” The Kremlin, which did not immediately comment on the attack, has repeatedly made unfounded claims about Ukraine’s involvement in domestic political crises.

Russia has been fighting a homegrown Islamist insurgency in the North Caucasus, where a Muslim majority population lives, for years – a legacy of the wars in Chechnya.

Thousands of Dagestanis left Russia to fight for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, and hundreds were eventually brought back to serve prison sentences after the group was defeated by a US-backed coalition.

The Islamic State has continued to claim responsibility for attacks in Russia, including a deadly attack on a popular Moscow concert hall in March. At least 137 people were killed in the worst terrorist attack in Russia in 20 years.

Christian and Jewish religious sites in Dagestan are often targeted by extremists. In 2018, a gunman opened fire on churchgoers during a pre-Lenten festival in the city of Kizlyar, killing five women.

On October 29, a mob stormed Makhachkala airport in response to anti-Semitic calls on social media to block an incoming passenger plane from Israel. Video taken at the airport showed rioters waving Palestinian flags, breaking down doors and attempting to overturn a police car. More than 20 people were injured, including several police officers.