Gunmen have attacked churches, a synagogue and a police post in Russia’s North Caucasus region of Dagestan, killing at least 15 police and National Guard officers, several civilians and an Orthodox priest, according to authorities.
At least 12 people were injured in the attacks, which took place in the cities of Derbent and Makhachkala on Sunday, the festival of Pentecost for the Russian Orthodox Church.
Three gunmen on a street in Makhachkala. They are dressed in black and appear to be firing their weapon. There are two cars on the street but they appear abandoned. The front door of one is open.
The gunmen pictured on the street of Makhachkala [Reuters]
Videos posted on social media and shown on Russian TV showed the skies of Derbent, which is home to an ancient Jewish community in the mainly Muslim region, filled with smoke and flames after the synagogue was set on fire.
Places of worship were also attacked in Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan and its largest city, approximately 125km (78 miles) away, where the police post also came under attack.
Russia’s Investigative Committee said it had opened criminal investigations over “acts of terror” in Dagestan, which neighbours Chechnya and is one of the poorest areas of Russia.
“This evening in the cities of Derbent and Makhachkala armed attacks were carried out on two Orthodox churches, a synagogue and a police checkpoint,” the National Anti-terrorism Committee said in a statement to the RIA Novosti news agency.
“As a result of the terrorist attacks, according to preliminary information, a priest from the Russian Orthodox Church and police officers were killed.”
The Russian Orthodox Church said its archpriest Nikolai Kotelnikov had been “brutally killed” in Derbent.
‘International terrorist organisation’
The attack on the Derbent synagogue took place about 40 minutes before evening prayers were due to start.
“The synagogue in Derbent is on fire,” the chairman of the public council of Russia’s Federation of Jewish Communities, Boruch Gorin, wrote on Telegram. “The synagogue in Makhachkala has also been set on fire and burned down.”
