A synagogue was attacked in the town of Derbent, while an Orthodox church was targeted by armed men further south, in Makhachkala.
Russian news agencies say gunmen opened fire on a synagogue and a nearby Orthodox church in Derbent, Dagestan, killing a priest and six police officers, the National Anti-Terrorism Committee and police in the Russian republic of Dagestan said . “This evening, in the cities of Derbent and Makhachkala, armed attacks were carried out against two Orthodox churches, a synagogue and a police checkpoint”announced the Russian Anti-Terrorism Committee, cited by the RIA Novosti agency.
“According to initial reports, a priest of the Russian Orthodox Church and police officers were killed in these terrorist attacks”, he added. He declared that he had opened a criminal investigation into “terrorist acts”, without further details. Six police officers were killed and twelve injured in the attacks, said the spokesperson for the Dagestan Interior Ministry, Gayana Gariyeva. The priest, aged 66, was killed in Derbent, she said.
The Dagestan Interior Ministry announced to Russian news agencies shortly afterwards that four “attackers” were killed by the police “in Makhachkala”. Armed individuals also opened fire on Sunday against a police car and injured one in Sergokala, a village in Dagestan located between the coastal town of Derbent and the capital Makhatchakala, the Interior Ministry also announced in the evening. of this Russian Caucasian republic.
Synagogue on fire
For his part, the chairman of the Public Council of Jewish Communities of the Russian Federation, Boruch Gorin, declared on Telegram that “The synagogue in Derbent is on fire”. “It is not possible to put out the fire. Two people were killed: a police officer and a security guard”, he adds. He also assured that the “Synagogue in Makhachkala was set on fire and burned down”.
The leader of Dagestan, Sergei Melikov, wrote on Telegram: “Tonight in Derbent and Makhachkala, unknown persons tried to destabilize society.” Dagestan is a republic of the Russian Federation with a Muslim majority neighboring Chechnya, and also close to Georgia and Azerbaijan. Anti-terrorist operations are regularly announced there by the Russian authorities.
In October, anti-Israel riots broke out at Makhachkala airport, at a time of extreme tensions linked to the conflict between Israel and Hamas, with a crowd of men invading the tarmac as a plane landed in from Israel.
Russia has been targeted on multiple occasions by attacks and attacks claimed by the jihadist organization Islamic State (IS), even if its influence remains limited in the country. In March, an attack claimed by ISIS at Crocus City Hall on the outskirts of Moscow killed more than 140 people.
Last weekend, several ISIS members were killed after taking two prison officers hostage in a prison in southern Russia, authorities said.
Russia faced an Islamist rebellion in the early 2000s in the Caucasus, a movement born from the first conflict against separatist Chechnya in 1994-96. It had been defeated by Russian federal forces and in recent years, armed incidents there have become rare. Nearly 4,500 Russians, particularly from the Caucasus, fought alongside IS in Iraq and Syria, according to official figures.