At least one priest and several police officers have been killed in attacks in two towns in Dagestan, in the Russian Caucasus. Armed men attacked a synagogue in the town of Derbent, while an Orthodox church was targeted further south, in Makhachkala, capital of the republic of Dagestan.
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The toll is heavy. Russian agencies report at least ten dead, including a priest and police officers, and 34 injured, including 27 members of the security services, reports our correspondent in Moscow, Jean-Didier Revoin. The attacks on a synagogue and two Orthodox churches in the cities of Derbent and Makhachkala, in the Russian republic of Dagestan, have not yet been claimed. But according to certain media, which cite police sources on social networks, the perpetrators of the attack all come from Dagestan and several are linked to circles of Wahhabi Islam, a rigorist movement.
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Sunday’s attacks targeted “ two Orthodox churches, a synagogue and a police checkpoint », announced the Russian Anti-Terrorism Committee, cited by the Ria Novosti agency. According to Boruch Gorin, chairman of the public council of Jewish communities in Russia, two synagogues, one in Derbent and one in Makhachkala, were set on fire, without the information being verified at the moment. The death of six police officers was also announced by the Dagestan Interior Ministry. Authorities later said a National Guard officer also died, and another police officer died of his injuries.
Attacks that seem coordinated
Shortly after, armed individuals also opened fire on a vehicle carrying police officers, injuring one of them, in Sergokala, a village located between Makhachkala and Derbent, the local Interior Ministry further clarified to Russian agencies. There is no evidence to determine the motivations or identities of the perpetrators of these attacks, which appear to be coordinated.
The authorities denounce a desire to undermine confessional and inter-ethnic peace in this Muslim republic in the Russian Caucasus. Already last October, theDagestan airport had been invaded by a hostile crowd determined to do battle with passengers on a flight from Israel.
Sunday evening, local authorities remained on alert after announcing the end of an anti-terrorist operation and the death of two attackers in Derbent and four others in Makhachkala. The Russian Investigative Committee announced that it had opened an investigation into terrorist acts.