At least nine dead and 25 injured in armed attacks on places of worship in Russia’s Dagestan

CNN
—

At least nine people were killed and 25 injured in what appeared to be coordinated attacks by armed men in Russia’s southernmost province of Dagestan, local authorities said.

In the cities of Derbent and Makhachkala, which are about 120 kilometers apart, attacks on places of worship and a traffic check by the police were reported.

According to local authorities, seven police officers, a priest and a church security guard are among the dead. According to the Russian news agency TASS, four “militants” were also killed.

The chairman of the Dagestani Public Monitoring Commission, Shamil Khadulaev, said the killed priest was called Father Nikolay. “They cut his throat. He was 66 years old and very sick,” Khadulaev said.

He added that a church security guard who was armed only with a pistol was shot.

One of the police officers killed was the head of the police department “Dagestan Lights”, Mavludin Khidirnabiev, according to a telegram from the Dagestan Interior Ministry.

A nighttime video shared by the Interior Ministry of the Republic of Dagestan shows at least a dozen police officers – who appear to be armed and in tactical gear – outside the gates of a cathedral in northwest Makhachkala. CNN localized the video to the gates of Svyato-Uspenskiy Sobor, a Russian Orthodox church in Makhachkala.

Earlier on Sunday, Russian state media TASS reported that a church security guard was killed in a shootout at Svyato-Uspenskiy Sobor and that 19 people had locked themselves in the building during the attack. While it is unclear whether the standoff there has fully ended, those who had barricaded themselves in the place of worship have now been evacuated and taken to safety, TASS reported, citing Dagestan’s Interior Ministry.

Meanwhile, a synagogue in Derbent was set on fire. Photos show large flames and plumes of smoke rising from several windows on at least one floor of the building.

Attacks were also reported on a synagogue in Makhachkala and a police traffic station in Makhachkala.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry spoke of a “joint attack” on the two synagogues.

“The synagogue in Derbent was set on fire and burned to the ground. Local security guards were killed. The synagogue in Makhachkala was attacked with gunfire, there are no further details,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“As far as is known, there were no worshipers in the synagogues at the time of the attack and no casualties from the Jewish community are known,” the statement said.

The President of the Republic of Dagestan, Sergei Melikov, stated in a Telegram message that “unknown persons tried to destabilize the social situation. Dagestani police officers stood in their way. According to preliminary information, there are victims among them.”

Melikov said the identities of the attackers are currently being investigated, an operational headquarters has been set up and a counter-operation called “Interception” is underway.

He called on the public to remain calm, saying: “They expected panic and fear… They will not tolerate this from the people of Dagestani!”

The Investigative Directorate of the Russian Investigative Committee for the Republic of Dagestan announced that it had launched a terrorist investigation into the attacks in accordance with the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

“All circumstances of the incident and the persons involved in the terrorist attacks are being investigated and their actions are being legally evaluated,” the Investigation Directorate said in a statement.

This is a developing story and will be updated.