Authorities have launched a criminal investigation under anti-terrorism laws following coordinated attacks by gunmen that resulted in the deaths of 19 people in two cities in the North Caucasus region.
Russia's Investigative Committee reported that 15 law enforcement officers and four civilians, including a Russian Orthodox priest, lost their lives during attacks on religious buildings in Derbent and Makhachkala on Sunday evening. The assailants targeted two Orthodox churches, two synagogues, and a police checkpoint.
According to Reuters, gunmen armed with automatic weapons stormed into an Orthodox church and a synagogue in the historic city of Derbent. They set fire to an icon in the church and tragically killed 66-year-old Orthodox priest Nikolai Kotelnikov.
The Russian Orthodox church stated that Kotelnikov was brutally killed in the attack.
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, expressed his heartfelt condolences to the families who lost loved ones in Dagestan and Crimea, as announced by the Kremlin on Monday.
Russia has accused the US of being responsible for a Ukrainian attack on annexed Crimea, which it claimed resulted in the deaths of four people and injuries to 151 others.
The Kremlin made its statement shortly after Russia's allies China and Azerbaijan, which borders Dagestan, extended their condolences.
The committee announced that five individuals involved in the crime have been "eliminated," and their identities are known. They have also identified others connected to the attacks, but did not disclose the number of attackers responsible for the shootings.
In another announcement, Russia's anti-terrorism committee, tasked with preventing terror attacks, stated that two "bandits" were neutralized in Derbent and three in Makhachkala. The committee also released photos showing men in military gear marked with "FSB," Russia's security service initials, in dim corridors and stairwells holding weapons, along with a handgun on a bloodstained floor.
In its Monday morning statement, the anti-terrorism committee announced that a special counter-terrorism operation had ended.
Independent media have been unable to confirm the exact number of people killed in the attacks.
The assault occurred three months after 145 people were killed in an Islamic State attack on a concert hall near Moscow. This incident at Crocus City Hall marked Russia's deadliest attack in years, prompting concerns that the focus on the war in Ukraine and internal crackdowns had diverted attention from Islamist terror threats.
Initially, Putin accused Ukraine of planning the concert hall attack, even though there was no evidence linking Kyiv to the incident. Meanwhile, an IS affiliate claimed responsibility multiple times.
Last year, Dagestan saw a rise in antisemitic incidents. In one troubling event, a mob in the predominantly Muslim region stormed Makhachkala airport, targeting Jewish passengers arriving from Israel.
No one has come forward to claim responsibility for Sunday's attacks yet.
Dagestan's governor, Sergey Melikov, stated that they know who organized the terrorist attacks and their motives, but didn't provide specifics. The search for the gunmen will continue until all of them are identified, he added.
Three days of national mourning have been declared, with flags lowered to half-mast and all entertainment events canceled.
SOURCE: The Guardian