Multiple places of worship were attacked in Dagestan, and several were killed.
In a series of coordinated terror attacks, gunmen targeted religious buildings and a police post in two cities of Russia‘s Dagestan region, leaving at least 15 security personnel dead.
As per preliminary reports, places of worship from different faiths including Orthodox churches, and a synagogue came under fire in Derbent and Makhachkala.
Videos showed flames and smoke billowing from the synagogue in Derbent after it was torched. Authorities confirmed an Orthodox priest and civilians too lost their lives in the violence.
Over a dozen people suffered injuries in the shootings which coincided with the Pentecost festival celebrations in the mainly Muslim region.
Police launched probes into the “acts of terror” while the Investigative Committee placed the death toll at 15 police and National Guard officers for now.
Dagestan head said six assailants were “liquidated” in the security response. Reasons for the coordinated attacks are being investigated even as ISIL and its Caucasian offshoot have reportedly backed the perpetrators.
The region had faced unrest decades back. Monitoring groups noted the rare strikes on locations of different faiths in the Russian North Caucasus raise serious security questions.
