Russia Hit By Another Terror Attack, 19 Including 15 Policemen Killed in Attack In Dagestan

The troubled North Caucasus region of Dagestan has been hit by a terrorist attack, leading to the death of nineteen people, including 15 policemen and a priest.

The Russian Interior Ministry has also said that six gunmen have been killed in the attack, which has been traced to a foreign terror group, but has not been named.

Terrorist Attack in Dagestan Claims 19 Lives, Including 15 Policemen

Heavily armed gunmen opened fire with automatic weapons and attacked religious buildings in Derbent and a Makhachkala police post. The attacked religious places include a synagogue, which has been named a heritage site by UNESCO, and two Russian Orthodox churches. The Russian government has declared three days of mourning in Russia’s North Caucasus region of Dagestan following the attack.

The incident also left twelve people injured in the cities of Derbent and Makhachkala on Sunday. There was high attendance in the church since it was the festival of Pentecost for the Russian Orthodox Church.

Videos of the scene showed three gunmen, who were dressed in black, firing their weapons on a street in Makhachkala. A number of videos, which were posted on social media and later shown on Russian TV, depicted the skies over Derbent filled with smoke and flames after the synagogue was set on fire. The place is also home to an ancient Jewish community in a predominantly Muslim region.

The attack on the Derbent synagogue happened just 40 minutes prior to the start of the evening prayers. The chairman of the public council of Russia’s Federation of Jewish Communities, Boruch Gorin, wrote on Telegram,

“The synagogue in Derbent is on fire. The synagogue in Makhachkala has also been set on fire and burned down.”

In Makhachkala, which is the capital of Dagestan and its largest city, religious places were attacked approximately 125 km (78 miles) away. A police post was also attacked, and as per reports, 15 police officers were killed. Dagestan, which neighbors the restive province of Chechnya, is one of the poorest regions in Russia. The Interior Ministry has said that it had opened criminal investigations over “acts of terror.”

The National Antiterrorism Committee said in a statement to the state-run RIA Novosti news agency,

“This evening in the cities of Derbent and Makhachkala, armed attacks were carried out on two Orthodox churches, a synagogue, and a police checkpoint. As a result of the terrorist attacks, according to preliminary information, a priest from the Russian Orthodox Church and police officers were killed.”

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