According to the security officials, a tragic series of attacks by gunmen resulted in the deaths of seven police officers has been reported from Russia’s North Caucasus republic of Dagestan. Gunmen targeted a synagogue, two churches, and a police checkpoint in the cities of Derbent and Makhachkala which resulted in injuries to twenty-five additional officers during the attack.
The purpose & motivation of assailants is still unknow however Dagestan has always been privy to Islamic violence even in the past. As per state media, One Russian Orthodox priest, a church security guard & 7 law enforcement officers along with four attackers lost their life during the incident.
The gory images & videos from the scene in Makhachkala, Dagestan’s largest city has been widely shared on social media by the witnesses showing the perpetrators open firing on police vehicles closely followed by a convoy of emergency vehicles reaching at the crime scene.
In Derbent, famous for its Jewish history and community, gunmen attacked a synagogue and a church one after another, burned both the buildings down, reported by officials on the scene. The gunmen had barricaded themselves in a building in Derbent, as described by Mash, An unofficial channel on the Telegram messaging app.
The Russian Investigative Committee has launched an investigation into these “acts of terror,” as reported by the AFP news agency. Police taking swift action on Sunday, arrested Magomed Omarov, a prominent local politician and head of the Sergokalinsky district, who is connected to two of the attackers claimed to be his sons as per reports.
Dagestan is amongst poorest & a predominantly Muslim majority republic in Russia. Just little more than 10 days ago, the deputy head of the FSB, Russia’s domestic security service, chaired a meeting in Makhachkala to discuss “anti-terrorism measures” aimed at boosting security in transport, hotels, and other public areas.
In April, the FSB arrested four individuals in Dagestan suspected of involvement in an attack on Moscow’s Crocus City Hall venue the previous month, which resulted in over 140 deaths and was claimed by the Islamic State group.
There were series of attacks in Dagestan and neighboring republics, including Chechnya, Ingushetia, and Kabardino-Balkaria between 2007 and 2017, carried out mainly by jihadist organizations such as the Caucasus Emirate, and later the Islamic Emirate of the Caucasus.