More than 15 people, including police officers, an Orthodox priest and civilians, were killed and several others injured in an attack by terrorists in the southern Russian republic of Dagestan on Sunday. According to the Russian authorities, attacks took place in churches, synagogues and police stations in the cities of Derbent and Makhachkala.
Daghestan’s Interior Ministry said on Sunday that a group of gunmen opened fire on a synagogue and a church in the Russian Caspian city of Derbent, after which both buildings caught fire. Some pictures on social media showed huge flames and smoke coming out of many windows. At the same time, a church and a traffic police post in Makhachkala, the capital of Daghestan, were attacked.
AP quoted Russian authorities as saying that seven law enforcement officers, a priest and a church guard were among those killed in the attack.
According to reports, gunmen slashed the throat of Father Nikolai, a priest, and a security guard was shot dead in a church in Derbent. One of the law enforcement officers killed in the attack was the head of the police department “Light of Dagestan”, AP reported, citing the Dagestan Department of Dagestan.
According to reports, 19 people were locked up for security in the attack on the church in Makhachkala.
Following the attack, Russian authorities launched an anti-terrorist operation. Russian media reported that at least four attackers were killed during this time.
According to Russia’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee, attacks in Muslim-majority areas with a history of armed terrorism are “acts of terrorism”.
The Russian Investigative Committee for the Republic of Dagestan has launched a “terrorist investigation” into the attack under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, AP told CNN. “All the circumstances of the incident and the people involved in the terrorist attack are being established and their actions will be legally assessed,” the Investigative Directorate said in a statement.
The head of the Republic of Daghestan, Sergey Melikov, also released a statement on Telegram after the attack, saying that “identical people tried to destabilize the social situation.” He also confirmed that the identities of the attackers were being worked out, and that an operations center and counter-operation “plan” were being implemented. Melikov also urged people to remain calm: “Anxiety and fear, what they are hoping for … They will not win from Dagestanis.”
Meanwhile, according to local media, a Dagestan official was arrested because his son was involved in the attack. Russian authorities have declared three days of mourning in the region until Wednesday.
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