Attacks on police posts, churches, and a synagogue in Russia’s North Caucasus republic of Dagestan have resulted in the deaths of 19 police officers and several civilians.
Gunmen opened fire on places of worship in two cities in Russia’s southernmost Dagestan province on Sunday, killing at least 15 police officers, an Orthodox priest, and four civilians in what appeared to be a coordinated attack.
Sergey Melikov, head of the Dagestan Republic, stated that at least six “militants” were also killed following the attacks on churches, synagogues, and police posts in the cities of Derbent and Makhachkala, which are about 120 kilometers (75 miles) apart.
The attacks took place in the North Caucasus region of Dagestan, a predominantly Muslim area on the Caspian Sea with a history of separatist and militant violence. The turbulence in the region has been further exacerbated by Russia’s war in Ukraine, where ethnic minorities have been disproportionately mobilised to fight.
Video and photos showed large flames and plumes of smoke billowing from a synagogue in Derbent, while footage filmed from a building in Makhachkala shows unidentified individuals dressed in black shooting at a police car.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, which come three months after ISIS affiliate ISIS-K claimed responsibility for an assault at Crocus City Hall in Moscow, which resulted in over 140 deaths in one of Russia’s deadliest terrorist incidents in years.
Russian law enforcement agencies told the state-run news agency TASS on Sunday that the gunmen in Dagestan were “adherents of an international terrorist organisation.”
Russia’s National Antiterrorist Committee (NAC) said on Monday that “armed militants attacked two Orthodox churches, two synagogues, and police officers” in the two cities. The counter-terrorism operation in Makhachkala and Derbent has concluded, TASS reported.
Four civilians were killed in the attacks, bringing the death toll to 19, according to Russia’s investigative committee.
Dagestan head Melikov also said in a Telegram post early Monday that the active phase of the “operational and combat measures in Makhachkala and Derbent” was completed, but further investigations would continue.
Melikov described the possible involvement of “sleeper cells” and suggested the attacks might have had foreign support.
“Operative-search and investigative measures will be carried out until all participants of the sleeper cells are identified, which undoubtedly include some that were organised from abroad,” he added.
Three days of mourning have been declared in Dagestan following the deadly shootings, with state flags lowered to half-staff. Financial assistance will also be provided to the families of the victims, according to TASS.
Priest Killed, Synagogue Set on Fire
Dagestan is home to a small Christian minority and an even smaller Jewish population, which appeared to be among the targets of Sunday’s attacks.
A priest killed during an attack on a church in Derbent was identified as Father Nikolay by Dagestan Public Monitoring Commission Chairman Shamil Khadulaev. “They slit his throat. He was 66 years old and very ill,” Khadulaev said.
Nighttime video shared by the Republic of Dagestan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs showed at least a dozen law enforcement officers — who appeared to be armed and wearing tactical gear — outside the gates of the Cathedral of the Assumption (Svyato-Uspenskiy Sobor), a Russian Orthodox cathedral in Makhachkala.
Earlier on Sunday, TASS reported that a security guard was killed in a shootout at the cathedral, and 19 people had locked themselves inside during the attack. Those who had holed up there have since been evacuated to safety, TASS reported, citing the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Dagestan.
Meanwhile, two synagogues in Dagestan — one in Derbent and one in Makhachkala — were also attacked, according to a statement from the Russian Jewish Congress (RJC).
Forty minutes after evening prayer, gunmen stormed the synagogue in Derbent and “set the building on fire using Molotov cocktails,” while police and security guards were killed outside, the RJC said.
Photos showed flames and smoke billowing from several windows of the building.
Dagestan’s small Jewish community is part of the Mountain Jews who have historically lived in parts of Azerbaijan and what is now Russia’s Caucasus, according to Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Israel.
Monument to the Brotherhood of Three Religions in Derbent, Featuring Father Nikolai Kotelnikov killed by terrorists
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said the Derbent synagogue had “burned to the ground” and that local guards had been killed, while the synagogue in Makhachkala had been attacked by gunfire.
“As far as is known, there were no worshipers in the synagogues at the time of the attack, and there are no known casualties from the Jewish community,” the ministry said in a statement.
Security guards had been placed outside of local synagogues ever since an antisemitic mob stormed the local airport in October in an attempt to block a passenger plane arriving from Tel Aviv.
Investigation Underway After Police Killed
An attack was also reported on Sunday at a police traffic post in Makhachkala. One of the law enforcement officers killed was Mavludin Khidirnabiev, the head of the “Dagestan Lights” police department, according to the Dagestan Ministry of Internal Affairs’ Telegram channel.
In an earlier Telegram post, Dagestan head Melikov said, “unknown persons made attempts to destabilise the social situation. Dagestan police officers stood in their way. According to preliminary information, there are victims among them.”
The identities of the attackers are being established, he said.
“The attacks, the encroachment on our brotherhood, on our multinational unity, on our confessional indivisibility, are an attempt to split our unity, thereby creating rifts between us,” Melikov said later in a video address.
The Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of Russia for the Republic of Dagestan has launched a terror investigation into the attacks under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
“All the circumstances of the incident and the persons involved in the terrorist attacks are being established, and their actions will be given a legal assessment,” the agency said in a statement.
While the investigation is underway, some local Russian officials have pointed the finger at Ukraine without providing evidence. The State Duma Deputy from Dagestan, Dmitry Gadzhiyev, said he believes “special services of Ukraine and NATO countries” could be behind the attack.
However, Russian senator Dmitry Rogozin disputed this claim, saying in a Telegram post that writing off every terrorist attack as the “machinations of Ukraine and NATO” would lead to “big problems” for Russia.
Image: Prospect Magazine
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