Gunmen carried out a series of coordinated attacks on religious sites and a police post in the Russian region of Dagestan on Sunday, leaving at least 15 people dead, including a priest and several police officers.
The violence occurred in the cities of Makhachkala and Derbent, with reports of shootouts and fires at synagogues and Orthodox churches. According to authorities, six police officers were killed and 12 others were wounded in the attacks.
In Derbent, a 66-year-old Russian Orthodox priest was among the casualties, and both the synagogue and a church in the city were set ablaze by the assailants. The synagogue in Makhachkala was also reported to have been burned down.
The National Antiterrorism Committee stated that the attacks were acts of terrorism, and the Russian Investigative Committee has launched criminal probes into the incidents. Authorities in Dagestan said that two of the gunmen were killed during the clashes, and a counter-terrorist operation is ongoing to apprehend the remaining perpetrators.
The attacks coincided with Pentecost Sunday, a significant religious holiday in the Russian Orthodox Church, adding to the gravity of the situation. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the violence, but some officials in Dagestan have suggested a possible connection to the intelligence services of Ukraine and NATO, a claim that Ukrainian authorities have not immediately commented on.
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The violence in Dagestan, a predominantly Muslim region bordering Chechnya, is reminiscent of past conflicts in the North Caucasus, where Russian authorities have battled separatists and Islamist militants for years. The recent attacks underscore the ongoing challenges faced by the Russian government in maintaining security and combating terrorism in the volatile region.