Several groups of armed men simultaneously attack a synagogue, two Orthodox churches and a police post in the North Caucasus region. Among the deceased, there are at least 15 dead police officers and a priest.
More than 15 police officers and several civilians, including an Orthodox priest, were killed by armed militants in the southern Russian republic of Dagestan, its governor confirmed on Monday. Serguéi Melikov in a video statement.
According to authorities, the gunmen opened fire against two orthodox churchesa synagogue and a Police station in two cities.
A predominantly Muslim region
Russia’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee described the attacks in the predominantly Muslim region with a history of armed insurgency as terrorist acts.
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday have been declared days of mourning in the region.
The Ministry of the Interior of Dagestan said that a group of gunmen shot at a synagogue and a church in the city of Derbentlocated in the Caspian Sea. Both the church and the synagogue caught fire, according to state media. Around the same time, reports appeared about an attack on a church and a traffic police post in Majachkaláthe capital of Dagestan.
Several attackers have been killed by the police
The authorities announced an anti-terrorist operation in the region. The Anti-Terrorism Committee said that five armed men they were eliminated”. The governor said that six “bandits” they had been “settled“. The conflicting figures could not immediately be reconciled and it was not clear how many militants were involved in the attacks.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks. Authorities launched a criminal investigation into the charge of a terrorist act.
Russian state news agency Tass cited police sources as saying that a Dagestani official was arrested for the participation of their children in the attacks.
Melikov said in the video statement that the situation in the region was under the control of police forces and local authorities, and promised that the investigation into the attacks will continue until “all sleeper cells” of the militants are discovered.
Responsible and guilty
Melikov claimed, without providing evidence, that the attacks could have been prepared from abroadand referred to what the Kremlin called “the special military operation” in Ukraine in an apparent attempt to link the attacks to Ukraine.
In April past three people who they would be planning terrorist attacks were detained in the Russian region of Dagestan, in the Caucasus.
And Islamist attack left Moscow in March140 muertos. He IS-K was attributed the outrage, the Caucasian branch of Daesh. Russia also attributed responsibility for the attack to kyiv, which the Ukrainian Government denied.
