Gunmen opened fire at places of worship across two cities in Russia’s North Caucasus region of Dagestan on Sunday, killing multiple people, including an Orthodox priest and police officers, officials said.
The gunmen opened fire at synagogues, churches, and a police post in the cities of Makhachkala and Derbent in the Republic of Dagestan, a predominantly Muslim region along the Caspian Sea, according to authorities. The exact number of gunmen and victims involved in the attacks was not immediately clear.
Dagestan’s Governor Sergei Melikov said in a video statement early Monday that six of the gunmen had been “liquidated” in the two cities while the National Anti-Terrorist Committee said five attackers were “eliminated,” Russian state news agencies reported.
More than 15 police officers and several civilians, including an Orthodox priest who worked in Derbent for more than 40 years, were killed in the attacks, according to Melikov. The Governor declared Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday as days of mourning in the region, with flags lowered to half-staff and all entertainment events canceled.
“This is a day of tragedy for Dagestan and the whole country,” Melikov said in the video statement published on the Telegram messaging app.
Dagestan has faced waves of violence in the past but attacks have become rarer in recent years. The mountainous region was hit by an insurgency that spilled over from neighboring Chechnya in the 2000s, which Russia’s Federal Security Service said was quelled in 2017.
The attacks also follow recent extremist violence in the country. In March, four armed men killed 145 people at a concert hall. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, which was Russia’s worst terrorist attack in years.
Source: eNCA
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