Dagestan terror attacks shook the region as gunmen opened fire in two cities, killing 16 people. They targeted a synagogue, two Orthodox churches, and a police post. Among the dead were 15 police officers and a priest.
“This is a day of tragedy for Dagestan and the whole country,” said Sergei Melikov, governor of the Dagestan region, in a video on Telegram.
In Derbent, gunmen attacked a synagogue, home to a Jewish community in the mainly Muslim area. Russia’s state media Tass reported that attackers also shot at two nearby Orthodox churches, killing a police officer and a priest.
Footage on social media from Derbent showed heavy gunfire between the gunmen and police. Officials said the Derbent synagogue was set on fire. A clip showed flames from the building, a Unesco heritage site.
In a simultaneous shooting, gunmen fired on police in Makhachkala, Dagestan’s capital, about 75 miles north along the Caspian Sea coast. Local authorities reported one police officer dead and six injured.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for these terror attacks. “We understand who is behind these terrorist attacks and their goal,” Melikov said, without giving details.
Russian state media cited law enforcement saying two sons of the head of central Dagestan’s Sergokala district were among the attackers. They were detained by investigators.
Melikov stated that the dead included several civilians and an Orthodox priest who had served in Derbent for over 40 years.
Six gunmen were shot and killed, Melikov said. However, a Russian state news agency, citing the National Anti-Terrorist Committee, said five gunmen were killed. Independent verification of the number of people or gunmen killed was not possible. Russia’s investigative committee classified the shootings as terror attacks and opened an investigation. June 24-26 were declared days of mourning in Dagestan, with flags at half-staff and all entertainment events canceled.
In the 2000s, the restive region experienced an Islamist insurgency spilling over from Chechnya. Russian security forces fought extremists aggressively. Recently, attacks had become rarer. In 2017, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said it had defeated the insurgency in the region.
However, Russia has faced several Islamist terror attacks recently. This raises questions about whether its security agencies are distracted by the Ukraine invasion and the crackdown on anti-war dissent.
In March, the Afghan branch of Islamic State, known as Islamic State Khorasan Province, claimed responsibility for the Moscow concert hall mass shooting, the deadliest terror attack in years, killing 139 people.
Last week, Russian special forces killed six men linked to IS who had taken two guards hostage in Rostov. Dagestan has also seen antisemitic incidents. Last year, a mob stormed Makhachkala airport, searching for Jewish passengers arriving from Israel.
