At least nine peopleamong them eight police officers and a priest, died this Sunday in several attacks by armed groupss in Dagestan, a Muslim-majority Russian republic, located in the Caucasus and bordering Georgia and Azerbaijan. This was reported by the Anti-Terrorism Investigation Committee.
In a statement cited by the news agency RIA Novostithe organization said that there were attacks in the cities of Derbent and Makhachkala against two Orthodox churches, two synagogues and a police checkpoint.
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The spokesperson for the Ministry of the Interior of Dagestan, Gayana Gariyeba, said 12 officers were injured. According to the governor of Dagestan, Sergey Melikovin attacks 15 police officers and several civilians died, as well as six of the “terrorists.” Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were declared days of mourning in the region.
Attacks in Derbent, Dagestan (Video: X/@MoscowTimes)
They investigate “terrorist acts” in Dagestan
The Russian Investigative Committee opened a criminal case for “terrorist acts,” without providing further details.
The representative of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia, Boruch Gorinreported on Telegram that “the Derbent synagogue is burning” and that the Jewish temple in Makhachkala was also “set on fire and burned.”
A synagogue was attacked in the Russian republic of Dagestan. (Photo: Reuters).
According to the regional department of the Ministry of the Interior, Unknown gunmen shot up a synagogue and a church with automatic weapons.
The Russian National Anti-Terrorist Committee also reported that the priest of the orthodox church had died during the shooting and declared the alert “to guarantee security, stop terrorist crimes and arrest those involved in the shooting.”
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In Derbent, the attackers escaped in a white VW Polo car; while law enforcement officers and extremists clashed with gunfire in Makhachkala. According to the authorities, Two of the attackers died and two others were arrested..
Images of the Derbent synagogue engulfed in fire and with dense columns of smoke were broadcast on Russian public television.
The leader of Dagestan, Sergei Melikov, denounced that these attacks “are an attempt to destabilize the situation” in the republic, and called on the population via Telegram to remain calm. “What these bastards want most is for panic to spread. The Dagestanis will not give them the pleasure! ”He noted.
